New York Knicks 105, San Antonio Spurs 104
MIKE BROWN: What a ballgame. It's a fantastic ballgame. They made a run. We made a run. They made a run. We made a run. So there was a lot of back and forth throughout the course of the game. Obviously, they made their run towards the end. And you know, we could have folded a few times.
But our guys just kept fighting. They kept fighting, and the one thing I told them that, you know -- you work on connectivity throughout the course of the year for moments like these, and no matter what run they went on, no matter what time of the game, our guys just kept uplifting one another, not just the guys on the floor but the guys on the bench. They just kept uplifting one another throughout the course of San Antonio's runs.
So that connectivity that we started with, had during the season and continued to have now, paid huge dividends for our group.
I wouldn't be right If I did not talk about Mitch. Wemby is, I said it before, iconic. There is nobody like from. He can score from all three levels. He wants the ball. Two big possessions at the end of the game we put Mitch on him. What I'm proud about more than anything else, Mitch defended him the right way. Wemby is iconic. If he makes a shot, he makes a shot. You're not blocking a shot. You make him work, you lead with your chest. You show your hands and you embrace those details while trying to guard him and then box out.
It started with Mitch and it ended with the other four guys boxing out. So just a heck of a job by Mitch guarding the most iconic player in the world on two possessions to possibly win the game. Phenomenal.
Q. We talked about resilience all year. What's it like as a coach with the seat that you had right there courtside to watch a team fight time after time, run after run as you mentioned and come out with a victory like this?
MIKE BROWN: It's an amazing feeling as a coach to know how mentally tough your team is no matter what the situation is in front of them. To see them continue to fight and fight and fight and fight, no matter what the score is, no matter how much time is on the clock, it's just a fantastic feeling. The NBA is tough. You don't experience what I'm experiencing with this group a ton, and it is a freaking joy to be around.
Q. You mentioned Mitch. Where do you think his composure and discipline come from to be able to guard Wemby in the way that he does in those moments?
MIKE BROWN: I'm a huge fan of country music. So I think when he listens to country music, he gets the chill vibes because I know I do.
So I'm sure that's where he got it from. You know what, I don't know. It's just how he's built, man. He doesn't seem like he ever gets too high. Doesn't seem like he ever gets too low. We play him for 30 seconds and pull him out. We play him for seven minutes and pull him out, and he's the same all the time.
I don't know how much he played in the fourth quarter or even the whole game but we threw him out there. He got a stop; we sat him down. We threw him out there again, and he was the same. He just went and did his job.
But that country music probably had something to do with it.
Q. The challenge you made, that was a pivotal play. Can you take me through kind of what made you challenge it? Looked like you tried to bring in some subs to make Jordan [Brink] make the decision. What was going on there?
MIKE BROWN: Yeah, Jordan, he's been a master at this. And I've said it before, man. I've got great assistants, even guys sitting behind the bench, my young guys. I know I'm scared to death that one of these teams are going to poach them, poach my guys. Surprised nobody has come at Chris Jent for a head job yet. The guy's won Summer League as a coach. He's a lead assistant here. I can go down the line talking about all my guys.
But Jordan is insistent. He's been doing this now two years in a row. I rely totally on him. Every once in a while I lose my mind, you know, get emotional, and try to stick it to the refs, even though I like all of them, but that never works. So I try like heck to follow Jordan's lead, and it was 100 percent his call.
Q. Two games, Karl Towns has played as complete a basketball game as you've seen him play probably this season. What has your journey with him been like from the start of the season to now, embracing his role, embracing the small details to maybe a full maturation at this point?
MIKE BROWN: It's supposed to be like it is. You know, like it was. I came in with a great plan. Maybe the plan doesn't work. Who adjusts, him or me? Me. I adjust. The adjustment's not enough. Every once in a while we're not on the same page. We talk about it. We talk about it. I adjust again. A little bit better. He's feeling good. We talk about it. We talk -- maybe we take a couple of steps backwards because what I did, he doesn't like, which is fine.
It's my job as a coach to fit whatever scheme we have on both sides of the floor to all of our players, and if you're a great player, I've got to make a little bit more adjustments or I've got to give a little bit more than you do.
And we finally got to a point where he was comfortable, I was comfortable, Jalen was comfortable, OG was comfortable, Mikal was comfortable and to me that's what the regular season is about. The regular season is about finding your way so you can prepare for this time of the year, and there's going to be a lot of ups and downs.
And I hope there's adversity. I hope like hell there's adversity. Because we have to see if we're strong enough when it comes to being connected to see if we can get through it during the regular season.
So when we get here, anything we run into, we've already conquered during the regular season and we'll know how to handle it.
Q. Those of us that have been with you all season know how you feel about Landry, and I know you've talked about him ad nauseam. This guy, six of his last eight games, double-digit scoring, the defense. This guy started on a non-guaranteed deal. For him to be playing moments like, this I know it's something you thought he could contribute to this team, but for him to come through in this kind of stoic way for this group at this time, what does that say about him and also your belief in him?
MIKE BROWN: My opinion, I don't know, all I -- for the first time, when I was trying to get the job, that's the first time that I watched him closely because I was watching the Knicks, you know, when I was doing my homework. And to me, what it says is, you know, he probably -- not just here, I'm talking about his whole career because he's been a journeyman.
Again, I wasn't with him the whole time but he probably deserved more of an opportunity. Because what he does out on the floor on both ends is very, very hard to find in this league, especially at his size, with his mental toughness and his physical toughness.
You know, we gave him an opportunity and showed him we loved him. He embraced it, and he ran with it. And we have complete confidence in him.
Q. You've talked a lot about sometimes you'll list the accomplishments of one guy or another. Today, foul trouble, seemed like one guy or another did step up, Mikal, always somebody who stepped in. Can you talk about how it seems like somebody is always there for you?
MIKE BROWN: You're a hundred percent correct. Somebody is always there. Mitch defensively at the end of the ballgame. Mikal during a stretch of the ballgame was huge for us on both ends of the floor. You're not stopping a guy like De'Aaron Fox. You've just got to try to make him work. We put Mikal on Fox in the second half a little bit and made him work.
But what he did for us offensively when we were struggling and then when we took Jalen out was huge. He made big play after big play after big play.
Landry hit a couple of big shots. Deuce came off the bench late and hit a big three for us. OG was huge on his drives.
Again, a lot of contributions from a lot of guys, and that's why you like having a team because it could be anybody's night on any given night. Our guys don't care. They sacrifice for one another and we found a way to get a win.
Q. You take that 14-point lead, the Spurs come back, I think it was 21-5, that run, you have to burn a couple of time-outs. What's the message trying to get the guys collected as San Antonio makes that push?
MIKE BROWN: Stay composed. We have to try to keep touching the paint, trying to spray it if Wemby comes. If you're open, let it fly. Take care of the basketball, more importantly we have to get back.
We didn't do a great job in transition during that time. They really got the ball out and attacked us in transition, so we have to do a better job and we have to do -- part of that is trying to keep them out of the paint. I had to tell our guys, we have to shift better. We have to confront the ball higher and we have to get back sooner and we have to end it with a box-out and then we need to run, and then we need to touch the paint and if Wemby comes, just spray it.
Q. You mentioned that connectivity that this team has and every team is different and every season is different, but how has this particular group stretched you to evolve as a coach? How have they pushed you?
MIKE BROWN: They pushed me in a lot of different ways, not just the players but my staff, too. My door is always open, and I don't care whose idea it is that brings me an idea. You know, I want to know -- it's my decision at the end of the day to say yes and no for the group, and none of my coaches and none of my players are afraid to walk into my offices and say, hey, do this.
But in the same breath, if I say, hey, do that, they are also not afraid to say, whoa, whoa, whoa, I hear what you're saying, but think about this, think about that, I don't think it's the best.
Like I said in Game 1, I'm yelling at the refs and wasting my energy doing that, and they were doing a fantastic job but I'm losing my mind and Rick tells me to be quiet.
Okay, Rick, you know what, you're right. I've got to be quiet.
That's happened not just in the last game and not just with Rick but with players as well and other coaches, as well. The connectivity that we all have, the trust that we all have but more importantly the fact that none of them are afraid to come look me in my eye and tell me what I need to do better by holding me accountable is huge.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports