Knicks Postgame Reaction To Game 1 Overtime Win | New York Knicks

Knicks Postgame Reaction To Game 1 Overtime Win | New York Knicks

great team win. Uh we started well, then we fell into a hole, then we fought our way out. Uh and then we made tough plays down the stretch. Uh I think that’s huge for us. Like the defense, you guys switched everything. It really m things up for them. How did you like your guys execution defensively? The guys taking the the challenge of guarding one-on-one. Yeah, you know, and they still, you know, they got a number of threes up and some of them, you know, we have to do a better job. They’re rebounding. we have to make sure that we we fix that. So, some were good, some have to be a lot better, you know. So, there it and the important thing for us to is to understand what it is. It’s it’s one win and then understand that we have to reset and get ready for game two. Yeah, you know, and it’s it’s been this team has fought all year. You know, it’s been a pretty good road team. Uh, we’ve had to endure some things with guys being out and I think over time that helps you. You know, you build up, you know, your mental toughness and understanding how important that is. Uh, and it’s, like I said, it’s one game. There’s a lot of, you know, emotional highs and lows in a playoff, but no matter what happens, you have to keep moving forward. Yeah. No, just, you know, it was a great look, you know, shot it great. Didn’t go in. That’s part of the game. Next play, next play. OG was terrific, the whole game. Just, you know, multiple effort plays, that sort of thing. And then the thing I don’t want to overlook is, you know, Josh was terrific also, but uh, you know, C had foul trouble, but the rebounding uh, and making tough plays at the end, that was huge for us. Uh, and so I think when you think about that, you if you look at, you know, his stats shooting wise, he helped us win and that’s the most important thing. And the same can be said for male. male came up with some big-time rebounds in traffic and then the steal at the end. Uh, and so whatever we have to do to find a way to win that that’s the most important thing. So don’t get wrapped up in any personal dilemmas or anything like that. Put the team first and just find a way to win. Surprised at all as you guys are mounting that come back and you just mentioned that foul trouble. They obviously tried to foul mention that you take him out of the game. Did they continue to launch as many threes as they did when you guys were down here? Yeah. You know, and and that’s you know what they do and and again I want to look at the quality of of those shots and uh often times I thought uh they were scramble situations ones ones in which you know I thought Holiday hurt us with his offensive rebounding. We got to make sure that we get a body on him. He’s real quick to the ball. Um, and as a team, they’re quick to the ball. So, we we have to do a better job with that. Yeah, he came up with a big steal too, like in in uh you know, just his uh he has a multiple effort mentality. He makes a lot of tough plays for us. He plays with physicality, but it’s, you know, physicality with intelligence. There’s not reckless fouls. It’s body position. It’s anticipation. It’s thinking ahead. It’s reading the play. It’s reading the tendency. He’s got great instincts for that. Mitch, with Mitch, they’re obviously packing times during the game. How do you How does that change what you guys can do on the court? Well, the thing that he does is he impacts the game and he, you know, so if they go to uh to following him, you’re weighing what’s his impact. And I think he was a plus 13 or something when he was on the floor. So the the reason why they’re doing it is try to get him off the floor. And so what he does is he gives us the ability to switch more, but also rim protect and rebound. And then, you know, if they’re not in the uh you know, the the penalty or that then, you know, we know we can leave them out there. Then we have to make decisions as we go from there. Shots weren’t falling, but the defense he played three-pointer, you know. Yeah. The big corner one. Yeah. It was huge. Yeah. And then just at the end, I mean, he out a guy who probably weighs a ton. I mean, the way he Those are big time toughness plays, you know, just the ball’s up in the air. It’s a 50/50 ball and just go get it. And that’s what he did. So, uh, and that, you know, when you’re trying to win a game, a playoff game, they’re hard to win, you know, and you got to make plays like that. So I think your defense, your toughness, your teamwork, you know, that’s paramount in a playoff game. Jaylen in terms of down the stretch, you guys come back from down 20 and it’s a game down the stretch and just seems like there’s no doubt in these clutch moments he’s going to come through. Yeah. And and it’s it’s you know, obviously the obvious is him his shot making ability, but it’s also his teammates working with him to create advantages. And so, uh, understanding what the coverage is, what they’re trying to get away from, and then to try to create those advantages. It’s everyone working together, and then also trusting the pass when the second and third defender come. Now, we can play off of that. And so, if there’s two or three guys on them, we just spray it out, and then we can get a a good look. And often times, if we don’t make that, we get the offensive rebound on it. With with deuce, I mean, that that was probably his best game in the playoffs so far. What What allowed him to get to get going? Yeah, just, you know, just playing keeping it simple, you know, like not overthinking, not forcing things. Read the game. The game tells you what to do. Play to your strengths, cover up your weaknesses. Uh, and when he does that, he’s terrific. Yeah, and the same thing. It’s a the It’s not only the rebound, but then to get us to play with pace, to get us up the floor quickly and then to try to generate some open looks off of that. And we want to attack rim first and then find open threes. And it allowed us to play faster. And so I think that’s another area we can do better in. Tom, you come in believing that you can win this game against a team that that did well against your season. What does how much does it change and how much does it give your guys to now know that they can do know that they can come back from what they came back from and and that the game plan can is going to work. Yeah. I don’t you know and again I think the the biggest challenge in the playoffs it are dealing with the emotions of the playoffs and so uh if you feel too good about yourself you won’t be ready for game two. So it it is it’s one win and then tomorrow we have to reset and get ready for game two. And that’s all you know don’t play the series, play the game. You know what do we have to do to win game two? And that’s where the focus needs to lie. And so I think that’s important for us. The the stats are for him, but I mean they got a bunch of guys that shoot, you know, high 30s, 40s from three. You know, they they they want, you know, they’re good shooters and and some of them were were good looks. So, um I think y’all saw it took us a little while to um figure out how this series is going to be. You know, we got beat with bats for six games. So, we we brought our bats here and I was like, I don’t know if we could have been as physical. So, um, you know, it it it took us a little while to figure out how, um, you know, the the game whether to be called, but, um, you know, that’s a part of, uh, of the playoffs, part of the, um, the game you got to figure out by game by game, series by series. And, um, like I said, it was a tough win and, you know, happy we got it, but we got to move on. Talk about, you know, overcoming, missing 14 free throws, coming back double digits, the effort that it took. Yeah, I mean, I couldn’t make it a free throw. I think I was I I missed like I was three for six. I was terrible. Um but yeah, like I said, it was just just toughness, just grittiness. Um you know, we’re we have tremendous amount of confidence for everyone that that wears a Knicks jersey and you know, everyone came in and um you know, contributed and and helped in a positive way. What do you mean the way Male impacted the game particularly late? Yeah, I mean that’s that’s who Muel is. um you know he you know he’s got a lot of um criticism um and and he never lets that affect him and I don’t know how many games um you know down the stretch that he’s he’s won for us just on the defensive side alone um the Brooklyn game and the block the Chicago game he got a block at the end um you know big game this time couple you know in the Detroit series so he’s been a huge part for this team. Um sometimes those things get overlooked and people just look at stats and they lose um they lose sight of how valuable of a player that he is and um you know he went out there and um shot wasn’t falling but he had a big three in overtime I think it was overtime um you know plays that go over look he had a back tip I think that uh actually I think Jaylen ended up missing the three broke jump shot but you know it’s plays like that where he his his motor is, you know, always goes. He’s a winning player. He makes winning plays and um he should be celebrated for that. Again, you know, um keep putting ourselves in these type of games. But um you know, I I think we’ve done a great job of just fighting and giving ourselves a chance to win and um you know, just to put ourselves in a position where we could uh find a way to leave here tonight with a win is is is all it’s about. So, um, shout out to this team, the grittiness of this team, the resilience of this team to not, uh, you know, let go of the rope in the third quarter. Does this build confidence now coming in here, getting game one? I mean, of course, you winning a game makes you feel good, you know, um, but, you know, just as quick as you win a game, you could lose the next one. And if anything, you’ve shown y’all that in the Piston series. So, um, we just got to, you know, enjoy this one tonight. But tomorrow, we got to get right back to business. You know, this team is is special. obviously defending champions and they’re going to come back hungrier and even um executing at a higher level. What do you guys want to do defensively when you went down 20? They got off 60s in this game. They looked pretty forced to settle for quite a few. Just you know, I thought we did a good job of um like you said, we you know, we got some some shots were lucky. You know, they missed some threes that I think we all know they make and we were able to convert those to points. So, um, we did a good job of just, uh, getting some fast break points and and getting some, uh, some of the pace back in our offense. And how did you handle the fouls you were in early into that second half? Uh, just just a different physicality, the Detroit series. So, we got to adjust. I got to adjust especially. How much did the last series of greenness help you out tonight with, you know, the playup intensity that Yeah, I mean, it’s just like I said, we keep finding ourselves uh, positioning ourselves in the game to be in these kind of games. So, um, you know, it’s it’s it is what it is, but you know, we done a great job all year in the last, you know, series of just putting ourselves in a position to have a chance to win. Um, and we did that tonight and, um, we just found a way. Shout out to our team. How about your team defense tonight, especially in that fourth quart? I mean, in overtime, we did a great job of of not only getting stops, but closing out the possession with a rebound and, um, getting steals, and of course, at the end, Male Bridges, you know, does what he does best. And um you know after I we played 50 plus minutes he finds a way to have enough energy to kind make uh that play. So um this team man they showed up when we we all showed up when we really needed to and that’s kind of been our MO. When you get a few stops when you start to feel that that toughness that physicality take hold. Does that build momentum for you on the defensive side it the way you would on the offensive side hitting? You know, I I I think, you know, sometimes, you know, offense is is just it’s not clicking and that’s just how the game plays out sometimes, but we always control our effort on the defensive end. And um you know, I think for all of us, including myself, you know, things may not have been going the best in the second half, but we we we we did a great job of uh putting the effort in to give ourselves a chance to win by on the defensive end finding ways to get stops, get the rebounds, uh apply the pressure needed to um give ourselves a chance to win. Uh, obviously they they were able to get out to a 20-point lead, but it feels like you guys were able to turn up the intensity and and kind of show off that resiliency you guys have shown all year. What were kind of those conversations like as they were taking off and and prepping for what you guys were able to do in the end? Um, told each other just keep believing and um just keep fighting, sticking together and keep chipping away. Now, wasn’t just going what is it going to be uh a 20point shot where you can just come back? We got to keep chipping away possession by possession and then um just find a way to keep getting stops and making plays on offensive window as well. Um Jaylen, how about the what OG did in the uh when you guys were down 20 and what he was able to do there to lift you guys back up. Yeah, definitely sparked us and um just the way he’s been playing not just in the postseason but all year and I mean I have the utmost confidence in him every time he’s on the floor on both sides of the ball. So, um this is what we expect. Jaylen, uh there are 40, uh predicts from ESPN’s experts. They’re all all of them say they are not you’re not winning tonight. Like after this game, you got any message for them? No. No. Guess um for either of you guys, how important was male uh particularly down the stretch, both sides? Uh, I mean, he got big stops. He made big time shots, you know, just stayed with it. Uh, kept playing hard and you saw the results. Jaylen, when that shot doesn’t go down at the end of regulation, you look like you were kind of incredulous, but how do you guys get in the huddle and for overtime kind of just regroup? Yeah. Um, I feel like we still had momentum at that point. Obviously that was wasn’t the result but uh that we wanted. Um but you know we had another 5 minutes to go out there compete and u we we went out there as a team and did that. Um just thankfully I had my teammates because uh yeah overtime I wasn’t at my best but my teammates have my back and I’m very thankful for that. OG I got two for you real quick. Just number one the season series Tatum averaged over 30. just what did you see tonight that able that allowed you to kind of have your impact on the defensive end? Uh just force him into difficult shots. You know, he’s a great player so and he’s going to make some tough ones. Just try to make him as uncomfortable as possible and yeah, see if he makes the shot. Just make it as difficult as possible. And then on the offensive end, just at what point did you know that that you had it going because it looked like every time that you you got into attack mode, you you made the bet? Uh, I mean, I felt like I had to go in early, you know, just trying to look hunt for shots, get on transition, run, and just be aggressive and make the right play, whether it’s passing it or shooting it. OG, you have championship experience, a lot of playoff experience, but you had your playoff experience taken away from you by, you know, injury last year. How much did the championship experience and what happened last year really forge you into this sort of moment here against the defending NBA champion? Uh, I mean, I think, yeah, I’ve played against great teams in the past and, uh, yeah, I think I mean, we all have experience. You know, Jaylen’s been in the conference finals, Muel and Cam been in the uh, finals. Uh, Cat’s been in the West Conference finals. So, I think collectively we’re all experienced group and shows like in moments like this, like in tough games, you know, we’re resilient. Boston 15 of 60 from beyond the ark. I guess what was working for you guys? Obviously, they missed some open looks, but I guess schematically, what was working for you guys to get out and challenge? You want it? Um, I mean, they still got a lot of uh threes up, so uh it’s on us to limit their attempts, but I think for the most part, we made them tough. They had a lot of easy looks that we were they were thankful that they missed, but um we got to continue to make it tough. And um you don’t you just don’t know when they’re going to be able to knock them down because they also I think at the beginning of the year almost had a record on us shooting 63s. So um I mean we got to be better at that aspect and let not let them shoot as much and not let let them get open. Jesus open shots up. Uh you guys did a lot of switching tonight and it felt like at the end it it really wore on them. Everybody kind of defended one-on-one for both of you. How much of that game plan is coming in is a collaboration with Tibs and like let’s try this these are things that we think we can work on or um how much is it the coaching staff coming to you guys with this game plan and uh thinking just something different to try for this group. I think it’s a mix of both. You know the coaches coming to us then the players also taking the challenge and wanting to guard wanting to get stops you know just taking pride in playing defense. I think we all did it tonight and we can get even

Coach Thibs and the Knicks react after a 108-105 win over the Celtics in Boston to take a 1-0 series lead in the Eastern Semifinals. The Knicks take on the Celtics in Game 2 back in Boston on Wednesday – catch the Pregame and Postgame shows to EVERY game on MSG Networks or stream on The Gotham Sports App. GothamSports.tv

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Knicks Postgame Reaction To Game 1 Overtime Win | New York Knicks