Knicks execute in Game 4 win to tie series 2-2 | NY Got Game Postgame - video Dailymotion

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Watch Knicks execute in Game 4 win to tie series 2-2 | NY Got Game Postgame - New York Post on Dailymotion

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00:00:00114-98 is the victory for the Knicks in Game 4.

00:00:04Very important game. Could have been terrible if they lost it, but they win this game.

00:00:08As I said, 114-98. Fantastic defensive performance.

00:00:11Dexter Henry, Brian Fonseca, the great John Jastrzemski, a.k.a. JJ,

00:00:15here with us in the building and now with us for a little bit of postgame before he has to

00:00:19leave.

00:00:21JJ, I think the main takeaway has to be from this is the Knicks.

00:00:25Their backs were against the wall to some degree. I know it was in do or die.

00:00:28But their backs were against the wall, and they stepped up defensively.

00:00:32They did everything they need to do to win this game.

00:00:35Everybody was better. Maybe except for Jalen Brunson. We'll get to him in a second.

00:00:38Mike Brown was better. All the other players were better. They stepped up.

00:00:41For me, the defense was the most impressive part. What was it for you?

00:00:44I think it has to be. I look at Carl Anthony Towns, though.

00:00:47I mean, we could talk about the Knicks defense, but the way Cat seamlessly played throughout this game

00:00:53and the idea of him setting up his teammates,

00:00:55the idea of him not forcing the issue, not necessarily, hey, yucking up a bunch of shots.

00:01:02I'm going to take what's given. I'm going to find guys under the basket.

00:01:05I'm going to play within the offense.

00:01:07To me, he was the most valuable player in the game, boys.

00:01:10I agree.

00:01:11And a step further, this is the version of Carl Anthony Towns, the Knicks need.

00:01:15Now, matchup, obviously, you know, is going to dictate what you see as far as Cat shooting the ball more.

00:01:22Obviously, you had guys wide open, baseline again and again and again.

00:01:26But this is an efficient, top-notch, playmaking, elite scoring machine at the big man spot.

00:01:35Brian, that to me, that's the game right there.

00:01:38Great defense to Carl Anthony Towns.

00:01:40I agree.

00:01:41It's also, it's the best game he's played in the playoffs.

00:01:44It was even better than the last game where we thought he was really good.

00:01:47But this is why we continue to say it's not about shot attempts with Carl Anthony Towns.

00:01:51It's not about post-ups with Carl Anthony Towns.

00:01:54It's about touches and being efficient with his touches.

00:01:56He was doing that in this game.

00:01:58He was really, really good at finding.

00:02:01First of all, the Knicks had a great game screening.

00:02:02And they would get O.G. Ananobi back cutting, and he was just wide open over and over and over

00:02:08again.

00:02:09And Cat was able to find these cutters over and over and over again.

00:02:12He was finding shooters as well, doing a good job of even playing some inside-out basketball.

00:02:17Like, his reads were great.

00:02:19He had a couple silly fouls, but, like, his game was so good that it didn't even matter.

00:02:24And the shots that he was taking, because he only took 10 for the game,

00:02:28but it felt like every shot that he took was fine.

00:02:30And let's give the coach credit.

00:02:31We talked about this at the end of the first quarter.

00:02:34They did a much better job of staggering Cat and Brunson.

00:02:39You didn't feel like you had these extended stretches of both guys being off the floor for the team.

00:02:45And I know Brunson is a weird game for him because of the ankle.

00:02:47He goes back into the locker room.

00:02:49But it was either Cat was on the floor, or Brunson was on the floor, or they both were on

00:02:54the floor.

00:02:54And moving forward for the Knicks, that's how it's got to be.

00:02:57Yeah.

00:02:58Yeah, sometimes we have to let, and it was uncomfortable,

00:03:00we've got to let people go through the process.

00:03:03Mike Brown got there.

00:03:04However he got to this point, a lot of fans talked about it.

00:03:06I thought the rotations were great.

00:03:09I agree with JJ 100%.

00:03:11Cat is the MVP of this game.

00:03:13What he did on both ends of the court.

00:03:15The Knicks showed they could win a game when Jalen Brunson didn't have it.

00:03:19Jalen Brunson was not good tonight.

00:03:20Turned the ball over six times, right?

00:03:23Seven of 18 from the field.

00:03:24But the Knicks still found a way because most people had great contributions.

00:03:29We have a postgame where we're not even going to talk about whether or not Mikael Bridges contributed.

00:03:34He only played 19 minutes.

00:03:35And yes, he disappeared in the second half.

00:03:37And Mike Brown said, okay.

00:03:39They didn't even play him in the second half, didn't he?

00:03:40They said, you know what?

00:03:41That first stint, right?

00:03:43And then that was it.

00:03:43Oh, this needs to be brought up.

00:03:45Sure.

00:03:46It's just thinking about big contributions in this game.

00:03:49Yeah.

00:03:49Cat, the defense, all true.

00:03:52How about Alvarado?

00:03:53Oh, I knew.

00:03:54I had a feeling you were going to go there.

00:03:55Alvarado off the bench.

00:03:56Wave your flag, Brian.

00:03:57Wave your flag.

00:03:58Wave the flag.

00:03:59Wave the flag.

00:04:00Wave the flag.

00:04:01There you go.

00:04:02That's everything you envisioned from Alvarado when you made that trade midseason.

00:04:06Everything.

00:04:06A game like that.

00:04:08But you said this.

00:04:08You said that exactly during the broadcast.

00:04:12It was the early stint for him.

00:04:14And I think you also got to give him credit for the stint when Brunson goes out in the third

00:04:16quarter.

00:04:17And the offense didn't crater.

00:04:19He stabilized the team.

00:04:20He brought the energy.

00:04:21He helped them win the non-Brunson minutes.

00:04:23You talked about him being a pest.

00:04:24That's exactly what he was.

00:04:25You had all of that.

00:04:26You had all of that here.

00:04:28This is what you got it from me.

00:04:29In other words, you just want to take another P word here.

00:04:31You said professionalism.

00:04:32You talked about him and Clarkson standing and being ready.

00:04:35You were not the P word.

00:04:36You got to stop doing that.

00:04:39If you thought I was thinking about another P word, come on, folks.

00:04:42Always rhyme.

00:04:44Okay, you say you never know.

00:04:46Never know.

00:04:47I got to keep the people on the edge of their seat.

00:04:49I like it.

00:04:50I'm glad you appreciate it, man.

00:04:52Anyway, Holti Alvarado.

00:04:54Big time.

00:04:56Big time performance by him here that should not be overlooked.

00:04:59I agree with you.

00:05:00Also, that's all about your guy.

00:05:18O.G.

00:05:19The Hawks have really found success in this series when they're getting downhill, and they

00:05:25weren't in this game until Kamingo was starting to get calls late in the fourth quarter, and

00:05:29what Atlanta needed to do was generate better looks inside.

00:05:33They kept settling for threes.

00:05:34The Knicks were forcing them to do that.

00:05:36They shot a poor game.

00:05:37The Knicks had a great defensive game plan.

00:05:39So, I think that's a big part of what we saw, too.

00:05:42Defensively, it's just making the Hawks uncomfortable on offense.

00:05:45They couldn't get into a lot of stuff.

00:05:47CJ McCollum wasn't his normal self.

00:05:48Nikhil woke up a little bit, but at the same time, it was kind of just not enough for that

00:05:54team.

00:05:55And the shooting that they got, like, that plays right into the Knicks' hands.

00:05:58It does.

00:05:58I want to give a shout-out to somebody in the chat, and that is Terry Clark, 3973.

00:06:03I told you Terry would show up.

00:06:03Terry Clark is a real one.

00:06:05Terry Clark is a Hawks fan, and he has shown up, after all these games, win or lose.

00:06:09And I said, will he show up?

00:06:10Terry Clark?

00:06:11I said he would show up.

00:06:12He's a man of honor?

00:06:12He's a man of honor.

00:06:13We got to give respect to Terry Clark.

00:06:15He said, he said...

00:06:16And I'm going to proclaim it.

00:06:17Terry, sorry.

00:06:18I appreciate your loyalty.

00:06:20Knicks are winning the next two games.

00:06:22Terry, you are welcome to respond to JJ, however you want.

00:06:25He said, I'm here for the smoke.

00:06:27He said, way to stand up.

00:06:28I respect Terry Clark for showing up.

00:06:30He did not run from the smoke.

00:06:32Listen, when you're going to talk to the smoke, you got to be there.

00:06:34But then when your team gets their ass whooped, you got to be there, too.

00:06:36He showed up.

00:06:38We had Pistons fans do the same thing last year.

00:06:39That's true.

00:06:40Pistons fans were cool during that series.

00:06:42Celtics fans, they acted like where they're from.

00:06:45And Pacer fans, you know.

00:06:47I think we had a couple that were cool, but for the most part...

00:06:50Hawks fans, they're great.

00:06:51Those are rivalries, legitimately, though.

00:06:55Knicks-Hawks isn't...

00:06:57No, it's not.

00:06:59It almost became one at one point because of the Trae Young thing, but not really.

00:07:02I would probably put the Pacers number one on the rivalry.

00:07:04Pacers, yeah, 100%.

00:07:05And the history behind it, too.

00:07:07Celtics, you might say, if you go back, the Boston-New York dynamic, you have that.

00:07:10But you haven't had a ton of great Celtic-Knick playoff.

00:07:13And there's been a lot of times where both teams have been good at the same time.

00:07:15There's been a couple recent series because you had last year, you had 2013, which is kind of recent.

00:07:19Last year's good, it spices it up a little bit.

00:07:21Yeah, like, now, they play again this year.

00:07:23Now we're getting to the point where this is...

00:07:25We're starting to be coming back to it, right.

00:07:27To J.J.'s point, there hasn't been a lot of times where both teams have been good.

00:07:29The Celtics weren't good for most of the 90s.

00:07:31And beyond that, a lot has to happen for this to break right at this point.

00:07:34But if you get Knicks-Pistons in the conference finals, then you could start talking about that as well.

00:07:39So, extra, no question.

00:07:40Right.

00:07:41All right, J.J., since we got you for a couple more minutes, I got to ask you this.

00:07:44This obviously was a big one.

00:07:46The Knicks had to win this game.

00:07:47Had to have it.

00:07:48Had to have it.

00:07:48They got it.

00:07:50I'm going to say this.

00:07:51I don't think the pressure's off.

00:07:52I don't.

00:07:53Because you can't relax on Tuesday night.

00:07:55No, of course not.

00:07:55100%.

00:07:56No, listen.

00:07:56You blow Tuesday, then.

00:07:58All bets are off.

00:07:58Then the Knicks are in a position that's even worse than the one that they were in going into this

00:08:02game.

00:08:03100%.

00:08:04They are the better team, though.

00:08:06And that's what I've noticed in watching this series for four games.

00:08:09The Knicks lost not one, but two one-point games.

00:08:12They choked away game two.

00:08:14They were dominating game two.

00:08:16They won game one convincingly.

00:08:17They won game four convincingly.

00:08:19They should have won game two.

00:08:21They could have won game three.

00:08:23If the series keeps playing out the way that most of these games have played out, I think this is

00:08:30over at six, guys.

00:08:31I really don't.

00:08:31Do you think we'll see Atlanta's best game at any point?

00:08:34Because that's sort of the other shoe for me.

00:08:36It's like Atlanta had a really good first half in that last game.

00:08:39Atlanta's not playing a complete game.

00:08:40That's fair.

00:08:41Yeah.

00:08:41But the problem they run into, in my opinion, Brian, their best is not as good as the Knicks' best.

00:08:46They're just not as talented.

00:08:48And you throw in the inexperience.

00:08:50They have a lot of inexperience on this team.

00:08:52Comparatively, yeah.

00:08:53Other than McCollum.

00:08:54Other than CJ, yeah.

00:08:54It's a lot of guys.

00:08:55And the Kills played in a bunch of playoff games, too.

00:08:58Although not all in this role.

00:09:00Correct.

00:09:01Now, when you were expected to be one of the guys.

00:09:03Yeah, yeah.

00:09:03Right.

00:09:03And, listen, I think for Atlanta, you know, the best thing they have going for them is

00:09:08they can play frameless.

00:09:09There's no pressure on them.

00:09:11There's none.

00:09:11No.

00:09:12But I'm going to guess Knicks have a rockin' win in Game 5.

00:09:18And they'll win close in Game 6.

00:09:20I can see that.

00:09:21They need that.

00:09:23They need that is what I'm saying.

00:09:25The only counter to all of these guys, the Knicks never make anything easy.

00:09:29So, that's why I'm kind of like.

00:09:32It's like, but here's the thing.

00:09:33It wouldn't shock me if Game 5 was closer.

00:09:36And there was some nervous energy at the Garden.

00:09:38It wouldn't shock me.

00:09:39And the defense isn't as tight.

00:09:41You know what I mean?

00:09:42They have to play desperate.

00:09:44They were the more desperate, too.

00:09:44You don't want to be playing the seventh game in this series, though.

00:09:46You really don't.

00:09:47You don't.

00:09:48Especially knowing if we're looking ahead.

00:09:50And, listen, Knicks fans should look ahead because the goal is to get to the NBA Finals,

00:09:53right?

00:09:53So, you're thinking bigger picture.

00:09:54You're not just saying, hey, I want to beat the Atlanta Hawks and win round one.

00:09:57Right.

00:09:58Boston, more than likely, is going to play a very swift series against Philadelphia.

00:10:03Yeah.

00:10:03I do not think that series is going more than six games.

00:10:06Therefore, do you want to be playing a seventh game do or die and then have to go and roll

00:10:12out of bed and play in 48 hours?

00:10:13And I know a lot of the trends say, hey, your rhythm, your play, that'll wear on you.

00:10:18Maybe not in game one, but it will wear on you later in the series.

00:10:21Yeah.

00:10:21And, honestly, this series is probably more taxing than the Boston Philly series, even

00:10:26stylistically.

00:10:27Because with Philly, it's a lot of shooting, it's perimeter play.

00:10:30Like, it's not as physical.

00:10:32Whereas in this series, for example, we've talked about the defensive matchups being thrown

00:10:35at Jalen Brunson.

00:10:36It was a very physical series for him.

00:10:38OG had a hard fall today.

00:10:40Cat just got rammed into the back of the knee.

00:10:42Brunson got beat up.

00:10:43The whole deal.

00:10:43Yeah.

00:10:44And we're going to go, guys.

00:10:45We have Mike Brown, and JJ's going to leave us because he's got to go record his show.

00:10:48Well, boys, listen, I'm 2-0, by the way.

00:10:50Yeah.

00:10:50I'm 2-0.

00:10:51You're 2-0.

00:10:52That means you've got to come back.

00:10:53I think that means for the Knicks Celtics series, you notice I'm already looking ahead

00:10:56to the Knicks Celtics.

00:10:57I think we're going to have to do this again.

00:10:59We'll call you for Knicks Celtics.

00:11:00You are always welcome to come back.

00:11:02Weekends are good.

00:11:02Weekends.

00:11:03I told you.

00:11:03So, Saturday Knicks Celtics series, we've got you back.

00:11:05Saturday.

00:11:05All right.

00:11:06We're going to go to Mike Brown real quick with the press.

00:11:08Let's see what Mike Brown is saying.

00:11:09It was really good, but, you know, offensively, you know, in the second half, we had five second

00:11:17half turnovers, and that was big because they're a team that turns you over, and when

00:11:22they turn you over, they get out in transition, so taking care of the ball is good.

00:11:25Offensively, as well, you know, we talk about hitting the paint and spraying the basketball,

00:11:30and our guys were good.

00:11:32I mean, they had 16 sprays.

00:11:33That's the most we've had so far in these four games, and so we were able to get some,

00:11:38you know, some good looks from the three-point line, and we've got to keep making sure that

00:11:42when we do touch the paint, you know, we play off a two and we either finish or we play

00:11:47off a two and spray the ball the right way, and sometimes that may create a second drive

00:11:52for us.

00:11:54And then, you know, one of the things that we track are the 50-50 balls, and that gives

00:12:00us a barometer at times of how into the game we are, and, you know, we won the 50-50

00:12:06all

00:12:07battle, 11-19, so good win by our guys tonight.

00:12:13Mike, I know when you came to this job, you wanted your team to play faster, and I know

00:12:17that didn't necessarily play out how you wanted, but it felt like in this game there was a

00:12:22little bit more oomph in the open floor.

00:12:24It felt like the half-court offense was even a little bit quicker decision.

00:12:27Did you like what you saw just in terms of the pace you guys played with in that first

00:12:30half specifically?

00:12:31Yeah, I mean, we have to play faster, you know, we still have to play faster, not just

00:12:37in the full court, but in the front court as well.

00:12:39You know, it's a big concept of ours offensively, so our pace has to be there, but it was pretty

00:12:46good tonight.

00:12:48Micah, was the adjustment today to make a concerted effort, excuse me, to run offense through

00:12:53Cat as that playmaker?

00:12:55Obviously, he had a triple-double today.

00:12:56He was at the top of the key finding guys on cuts.

00:12:58It's just what did you see from that, and was that the lever that I guess you pulled

00:13:01for the game?

00:13:02Yeah, you know, just trying to find different ways to get Cat the ball, and, you know, obviously

00:13:08one of the ways is playing through the elbow.

00:13:10He had a couple of post-ups, and so trying to move him around, whether he's at the top

00:13:15of the floor at the elbow or on the block, but trying to move him around so he can get

00:13:20a few more touches throughout the course of the game.

00:13:22Mike, I think you mentioned physicality right away.

00:13:24I think Josh in the second quarter just kind of ripped the ball, guys, a couple times.

00:13:29Kind of what you saw, his effort in that quarter as you guys opened things up.

00:13:33Yeah, Josh was really good on the ball.

00:13:35Josh has got quick feet.

00:13:38He's strong, and when he gets locked in, he's locked in, and his defensive activity, especially

00:13:49when it comes to ball pressure, was fabulous tonight.

00:13:52You know, he was really, really, really good on the ball, and we needed every ounce of it.

00:13:58Mike, when Jalen struggles with his shot and turns the ball over a little bit, how positive

00:14:04is it, you know, to have two guys, like Cat and O.G., to kind of handle some of the

00:14:07scoring

00:14:08load and pick up some of that load?

00:14:11You know, at the end of the day, that's why it's a team game.

00:14:14Sometimes guys like him can struggle, you know, but the one thing that he continued to

00:14:19do, they've got to pay attention to him.

00:14:22They sent double teams at him, which gave other guys wide-open looks, and, you know,

00:14:28he set good screens.

00:14:29So he's, you know, no matter who it is, if Cat's struggling, he's got to find other ways

00:14:35to help us win.

00:14:36If Jalen's struggling to shoot it, he's got to find other ways to help us win.

00:14:39And if O.G.'s struggling to shoot it or not getting enough touches, Mikel, whoever

00:14:43it is, they've just got to keep trying to find different ways to help us win.

00:14:46And like I said, Jalen did.

00:14:48He created double teams, which, oh, and a couple of them do, got some wide-open looks.

00:14:54If they want to keep doubling, we've got to make sure we knock the shot down.

00:14:58He set great screens, you know.

00:15:00So we've got to keep doing those little things when we're not shooting the ball, you

00:15:07know, at the highest level, and Jalen did that tonight.

00:15:09So, hey, Mike, what did you think of Josh's defense on C.J. and also kind of what led

00:15:16into that switch coming into this game?

00:15:19I mean, he didn't guard, you know, Josh guarded Jalen Johnson some, too.

00:15:23So we just wanted to move Josh around.

00:15:26But Josh is, you know, his ball pressure is good.

00:15:29Like I said, he's strong.

00:15:30He's got pretty good feet.

00:15:31He's got long arms.

00:15:32And, you know, he locks into the ball.

00:15:34And so he's able to get some deflections without fouling because of his long arms.

00:15:39And, you know, C.J.'s a handful.

00:15:41So we've just got to keep trying to find ways to show him different looks, which means different

00:15:46guys have to guard him at different times.

00:15:48Mike, you mentioned the seven fast-break points allowed.

00:15:51Yeah, until, like, 43 minutes into the game when Dyson had that layup, it was at zero.

00:15:56So basically all in garbage time.

00:15:59What allowed you guys specifically to be so effective defending the transition?

00:16:05We didn't change anything with our defensive transition.

00:16:08Our rules are still the same.

00:16:10We just got back.

00:16:11And, you know, in the second half also what helps out is when you have some bad turnovers,

00:16:16that team really thrives off of them.

00:16:19And they get out and they run.

00:16:20And our turnovers, you know, were decent turnovers.

00:16:24And then we only had five in the second half.

00:16:26So that helped limit their transition.

00:16:28What do you mean by decent turnovers?

00:16:30So if I'm dribbling the ball on the right wing and I see Ian over there, right, and I throw

00:16:41it here and they jump the passing lane, nobody can get back.

00:16:45Does that make sense?

00:16:46If I dribble the ball up the floor and I'm along the baseline and I travel, it's a dead ball

00:16:54turnover, so we go back and set our defense.

00:16:56So live ball turnovers when the floor is not balanced the right way is what can kill you

00:17:01against that team.

00:17:03And we get a pretty good job of not having any of those.

00:17:06Mike, it might not show up in the stat sheet, but Alvarado's energy was very infectious tonight.

00:17:12Can you talk about his impact for the team and on the team?

00:17:16Well, he was huge, you know.

00:17:18I mean, he hit two big threes.

00:17:20You know, he's a guy that they're going to leave open.

00:17:22And he works very hard on his three-point shooting.

00:17:25And he took two, you know, he took the right shots tonight.

00:17:30And then defensively, he tried to be a pest.

00:17:33And so, you know, what he did out on the floor for us gave us a huge lift, especially

00:17:39when Jalen was out.

00:17:42Mike, was the plan like from the bat, just we're going to go through Cat?

00:17:46Sorry.

00:17:47Oh, I'm sorry, Steph.

00:17:48We're going to go through Cat?

00:17:50Or was it seeing what they were doing with Jalen and doubling him and stuff like that?

00:17:54Like, why that adjustment?

00:17:55Where did that come from?

00:17:58So, we just switched our early offense up.

00:18:01And with us switching our early offense up the way we did, it happened to fall into his hands quite

00:18:08a bit.

00:18:09Yeah, so, you know, I'll explain to you off the record one of these times.

00:18:15But, like, we didn't, you know, our early offense is still equal opportunity.

00:18:20But it gives us, the way we switched it up gives us a better chance to get to our second

00:18:26action, if that makes sense.

00:18:27To a certain degree.

00:18:31Mike, you kept the starting lineup intact.

00:18:34I mean, what did you see from that unit?

00:18:36And McHale sat again most of the second half, I guess.

00:18:39You know, what went into that decision as well?

00:18:41You know, we've won a lot of games with the starting group.

00:18:45And so, you know, I didn't want to panic and just change anything.

00:18:50You know, I mean, obviously we changed some stuff strategy-wise,

00:18:55but I didn't want to change anything with the starting group because I didn't feel the need to.

00:18:59And then, you know, at the end of the day, I just felt that Deuce had it rolling.

00:19:04You know, and they were going to double Jalen.

00:19:07And when they did, you know, Deuce hit some big threes.

00:19:10And so, if a guy has it rolling, he may have a chance to stay out on the floor.

00:19:16That's all that was.

00:19:18Mike, you had a couple of offensive possessions where all five guys had touched the ball.

00:19:23You had a couple of – in the laboratory of your mind,

00:19:27is that what your ideal is for when this team is really humming?

00:19:32Yes.

00:19:33And, you know, the first thing we want to do, we want to play with pace.

00:19:36You know, or just conceptually.

00:19:38You know, what is beautiful to me is when you play with pace,

00:19:44you have great spacing.

00:19:47You start with a ball reversal.

00:19:49You touch the paint.

00:19:51You know, when you touch the paint, first of all,

00:19:53when you reverse the ball, the defense does that.

00:19:56Then when you touch the paint, the defense does this.

00:20:00And then the fifth thing is every decision we make is quick.

00:20:05And if we could do those things, even if all five guys don't touch it,

00:20:10I'm a happy camper because we're probably going to get a good shot.

00:20:14Thanks, guys.

00:20:21All right, we are back.

00:20:23You heard from head coach Mike Brown.

00:20:26Some really interesting stuff for me.

00:20:28You knew he was going to get asked about the starting lineup

00:20:30or the decision not to change things in the starting lineup.

00:20:34You knew he was going to get asked about Mikel Bridges.

00:20:36Only played 19 minutes in this one.

00:20:39I thought his answer to this was really good.

00:20:42He said, look, with the starting lineup, we've won a lot with the starting group.

00:20:44I don't want to panic and just change anything.

00:20:47His reason for not making change in the starting lineup.

00:20:49I thought he should have made a change.

00:20:50Okay?

00:20:51But I also said if he's going to make the change,

00:20:54I thought he had to have a short leash with Mikel Bridges.

00:20:56Now, Mikel Bridges was not terrible today.

00:20:58He was 3-4 from the field, 8.

00:21:00He did disappear, as we talked with JJ about.

00:21:03And he didn't take – he took one shot after his 3-for-3 start.

00:21:06But, honestly, guys, we know the Mikel Bridges experience.

00:21:10Would I like more?

00:21:12Yes.

00:21:13I also would have liked the date with Beyonce years ago.

00:21:15You know what I mean?

00:21:16But, like, some things don't happen.

00:21:17You understand what it is.

00:21:19So, you know, you get what it is.

00:21:22It doesn't happen.

00:21:23On playing Bridges, he said, I felt Deuce had it rolling.

00:21:26And if a guy had it rolling, he's got a chance to stay on the floor.

00:21:30This is a thing I don't think Mike Brown gets enough credit for.

00:21:35He has had a good job of having feel for guys at a certain time.

00:21:39Yeah.

00:21:40And he's been adaptable.

00:21:41We've got to give him credit.

00:21:43You guys screamed about the lineups.

00:21:45I thought the lineups – I thought the timeout thing was the most egregious thing

00:21:48in the game, too.

00:21:48But I thought the lineups mattered at certain times, Brian.

00:21:52But he made adjustments to his lineup today.

00:21:55I liked how he managed his lineup.

00:21:57This is probably more of what we see going forward.

00:21:59We've got to give coaches chances to grow.

00:22:02You can grow as a coach even within the series.

00:22:04Has Quinn Snyder made more adjustments to him in the series?

00:22:06Absolutely.

00:22:07And I'm sure he will for game five.

00:22:08I'm sure Quinn Snyder will have more adjustments.

00:22:10And Mike Brown's going to have to be ready.

00:22:12But I like the way Mike Brown managed the lineup.

00:22:15But more importantly than all of that, I like the way the players executed.

00:22:19Because that's what matters the most at the end of the day.

00:22:21Yep.

00:22:22The players executed in a game where their all-star and all-NBA player

00:22:26was not good again in the series.

00:22:29Jalen Brunson has not been good in this series.

00:22:32The kids have been good.

00:22:33The biggest thing in this game was, and the Knicks can win games

00:22:36when Jalen Brunson doesn't shoot good, but the biggest thing was the defense.

00:22:40And Mike Brown also talked about the transition defense, Brian.

00:22:43He said they limited their transition points.

00:22:46And I thought he's right about this spot on.

00:22:49The Knicks in this game.

00:22:50And they had some sloppy moments, and Jalen Brunson had six turnovers.

00:22:54And that's one of the big criticisms of the Knicks had 14 turnovers in this one.

00:22:58They only had five in the second half, after having nine in the first half.

00:23:01So they cut down on the turnovers.

00:23:03That was huge.

00:23:05But I think to win another game where Jalen Brunson does not shoot the ball well

00:23:08and was sloppy with the ball is big.

00:23:12And it's because we said this before the playoffs.

00:23:14Other guys have to do their jobs.

00:23:17And you know what the other guys did?

00:23:18Their jobs.

00:23:22Basketball's a beautiful game.

00:23:24And there's beautiful complexions and complex actions in it and different stuff.

00:23:29But sometimes it's not that deep, and everything in sports comes down to execution.

00:23:33So y'all could have gotten to this person, he needs to do this.

00:23:37They defended better.

00:23:39You know, Josh Hart, he talked about Josh Hart's defense.

00:23:44On C.J. McCollum.

00:23:45Josh Hart, when he switched on him.

00:23:46And Jalen Johnson.

00:23:49Josh Hart was good in this game.

00:23:50You know, he didn't give me that 10th rebound for the double-double and all this stuff.

00:23:54Josh Hart is a guy you trust in big games.

00:23:56Correct.

00:23:57100%.

00:23:5716-game player.

00:23:59OG Ananobi.

00:23:59OG Ananobi's another one.

00:24:01Yep.

00:24:01Trust him in the big game to come up.

00:24:04I've seen Cat do it in big games like he did today.

00:24:07Cat did it today.

00:24:08The Knicks have the talent.

00:24:10They have the guys.

00:24:10This season's just been so up and down.

00:24:12Well, you're like, you don't know what you're going to get.

00:24:15This team is capable of playing like this over the next two games and closing the series out.

00:24:19They're also capable of shitting the bet.

00:24:22They're still capable of losing the series.

00:24:25Terry Clark would say that in the chat.

00:24:27Yeah.

00:24:29Zero fast break points allowed basically the entire game.

00:24:33It's a crazy stat.

00:24:3443 minutes of the game.

00:24:36And that's really the key, right?

00:24:38It's the main thing because a lot of you guys, and rightfully so, because it's the thing that jumps out

00:24:46the most when you're watching.

00:24:47Like, a lot of people will point to this needs to happen on offense.

00:24:50This needs to happen on offense.

00:24:52And we always point to defense first as it relates to this team and this roster.

00:24:56Because if you're going to raise your floor as a team, this collection of guys specifically, their defense needs to

00:25:02be on point.

00:25:02That's why you said before the series, what was your prediction?

00:25:05They'd be a top 10 defense this year.

00:25:06And if they're a top 10 defense, then they could actually content.

00:25:09They could actually content.

00:25:10Establish themselves as a contender.

00:25:12Well, that happened, even with the inconsistencies and whatnot.

00:25:17And even though they did, yes, they finally beat up on bad teams, but they also beat a lot of

00:25:22good teams throughout the season because of their defense.

00:25:25And they played like a top 10 defense, a top 7 defense, if you want to say.

00:25:29With the Spurs, it was defense.

00:25:31And I'm not talking about the Cup game.

00:25:32I'm talking about the game where they smacked them in the garden.

00:25:34Like, that was a defensive-led effort.

00:25:37Boston and Boston, Philly multiple times.

00:25:39Houston in that comeback, specifically in the fourth quarter.

00:25:42Defense wasn't great until the fourth quarter.

00:25:44But all these different wins that we've talked about, they were competitive against OKC because of their defense.

00:25:48And today, they were on point with their rotations, with their assignments.

00:25:53And the main thing was forcing Atlanta to take tough shot after tough shot after tough shot.

00:25:58Atlanta doesn't want to settle for all the threes that they took in this game.

00:26:02They're really finding success when they're getting downhill.

00:26:05That's why that they were able to come back in game two.

00:26:08You put in Jonathan Kaminga instead of Dyson Daniels because now you have a lineup of five guys who could

00:26:14attack the basket.

00:26:15In Jonathan Kaminga, in CJ McCollum, Onyeka Okongu, Jalen Johnson, and CJ McCollum.

00:26:22Like, Nikhil Alexander-Walker.

00:26:24You have all these different guys who could attack the basket.

00:26:27But today, the Knicks were forcing them to settle for bad shot after bad shot.

00:26:31Atlanta finishes this game 10 of 41 from three.

00:26:3410 of 41 from three.

00:26:36But the bigger thing to me, Dex, is that half of their field goal attempts came from three.

00:26:40When they've had success in this series and when they came back in game two, they abandoned the three-point

00:26:45shot in the second half.

00:26:46Because I pointed it out during the game, and I'll do it again now.

00:26:4949% of their field goal attempts came from three in game two during the first half.

00:26:54Talking about Atlanta.

00:26:55Then in the second half, it was down to 27%.

00:26:57And in that fourth quarter, when they came back against the Knicks, three three-point attempts that entire quarter.

00:27:03So, when they've been firing, it's not just three-point shooting.

00:27:06Even though it was better last game, they get to the basket.

00:27:09This game, they couldn't get to the basket.

00:27:10Like, that was the difference to me.

00:27:12And the Knicks were not letting them to get out in transition.

00:27:16That was the other thing.

00:27:17So, you didn't see Atlanta get a lot of easy points either.

00:27:19So, the defense, before anything else, won the game.

00:27:22And, obviously, we talked about Cat at the top of this.

00:27:24How could you not?

00:27:25Best game that he's played in this series so far.

00:27:28It's not even just a triple-double.

00:27:29Because you and I agree, triple-doubles are not all created equal.

00:27:33Like, some triple-doubles could just be overrated because you had a lot of usage.

00:27:35But Cat was decisive.

00:27:37He was reading the floor well.

00:27:39They were cutting.

00:27:40They were screening very well.

00:27:41And he was reading those cuts.

00:27:43OG Ananobi was getting easy looks at the basket.

00:27:45Others, too.

00:27:46It was primarily OG, it felt like.

00:27:48And they just kept getting beat, Atlanta.

00:27:50They just kept getting beat by that backdoor cut over and over and over again

00:27:53because of the screening that the Knicks were doing.

00:27:55So, Cat had a great floor game.

00:27:57He was efficient with his touches.

00:27:58Not about the shot attempts.

00:27:59He was efficient with his touches.

00:28:01He only had 10 attempts in the game.

00:28:03But he dominated in this game.

00:28:04And he was even holding up defensively as well.

00:28:06Yeah, he was.

00:28:07Cat was great.

00:28:08Cat was great.

00:28:09A great game is not always scoring 30 points.

00:28:11This was a real triple-double.

00:28:14I like that.

00:28:14I remember when people went crazy over that Memphis triple-double.

00:28:18This was real.

00:28:20The usage was great.

00:28:23I hope people can look at this game and understand that how he gets his touches,

00:28:28where he gets his touches, and then the word you used, decisive.

00:28:31How decisive he was.

00:28:33Whether he was putting the ball on the floor, passing, deciding to shoot.

00:28:37Cat was decisive.

00:28:38Cat came up again big in the big game.

00:28:40And that's what you need.

00:28:41Because every night, in some series, depending on the matchup and the length

00:28:45that can be thrown at it, you know, some people are going to kill Jalen Brunson.

00:28:48I already see some of you guys in the chat.

00:28:50And I get it.

00:28:50Some people just, they don't like how Brunson plays.

00:28:53There becomes this narrative about he's selfish and all this other stuff.

00:28:58Which, when you think about it, like, the Athletic has done a survey the last

00:29:00couple years, and Brunson's been highly ranked as one of the best leaders

00:29:03in the game.

00:29:05Right?

00:29:05And so...

00:29:05The NBA GMs.

00:29:07GMs have said this.

00:29:07Yeah, the NBA GMs.

00:29:09And people who know the sport and are around the sport rank him highly as a

00:29:12leader.

00:29:13So when I hear from fans who are nowhere near the sport and are just judging

00:29:16from watching games on TV and aren't in the locker room or don't ever talk to

00:29:21him and all this stuff and say that, I'm like, I say respectfully, you don't

00:29:25know what you're talking about because you're just not there.

00:29:28And the people who are there and say this say he's a good leader.

00:29:31Being a good leader is one thing.

00:29:33His play style sometimes, I've been critical of that.

00:29:36We did not like the shot selection in this game.

00:29:38Haven't liked the shot selection for most of these games that we've seen.

00:29:42You want the stat?

00:29:43That doesn't mean...

00:29:43Yeah, we'll get to the stat in one second.

00:29:44That doesn't mean, just to be clear, I don't think Jalen Brunson's a good

00:29:47player.

00:29:48I've also seen Jalen Brunson figure it out more than not.

00:29:50This actually just may not be a series for him.

00:29:52Which we talked about.

00:29:53We talked about that.

00:29:54And some of y'all looked at our film breakdown and was like, y'all are hating on

00:29:57Jalen Brunson.

00:29:57He's going to cook Dyson Daniels.

00:29:59And we wasn't saying Dyson Daniels was just going to lock him down.

00:30:01We just said, hey, the Hawks have a lot of interesting ways they could defend

00:30:06him.

00:30:07Brian and I talked about this at the top of this playoff series and was like, this

00:30:11is one of the things we should look at and film because the Hawks have a lot of

00:30:14things they could throw at him.

00:30:15This just may not be a series for Jalen Brunson.

00:30:17Now, can he be better?

00:30:19Can he pass the ball?

00:30:20The thing you can't have...

00:30:21The shooting doesn't even bother me as much tonight as the turnovers.

00:30:23Turnovers were terrible.

00:30:25You're the point guard.

00:30:26You have to take care of the ball.

00:30:28Jalen Brunson knows that.

00:30:29The entire team knows that.

00:30:31That's fine.

00:30:32Jalen Brunson is never going to turn into John Stockton or Chris Paul.

00:30:35He's not going to be that guy.

00:30:37Some of you want to be that guy.

00:30:38It's not going to happen.

00:30:40But he can be better than what he is today.

00:30:42He's got to figure it out.

00:30:44And the shot selection's got to be better.

00:30:46Take care of the ball.

00:30:46It's got to be better.

00:30:48Thankfully, the rest of his teammates were so good that it did not matter.

00:30:53There's going to be another game in the playoffs where Jalen Brunson doesn't have

00:30:55it.

00:30:56Hopefully, down the road against another opponent.

00:30:58Hopefully, not in Game 5.

00:31:01But other guys have to step up.

00:31:03Now, has he been good this series?

00:31:07Absolutely, positively not.

00:31:09And the numbers, give it to us, Brian.

00:31:12The numbers ain't good.

00:31:14Since the first quarter of Game 1, we have updated the Jalen Brunson tracker.

00:31:19Since the first quarter of Game 1, where he went absolutely crazy, he is 29 of 78 from

00:31:25the field.

00:31:26He is shooting 37% from the field.

00:31:28Basically, in the last 15 quarters of this series.

00:31:32Today, it was 7 of 18.

00:31:34We remember, because we were talking about this during the game.

00:31:36He was 3 for 10 in the first quarter.

00:31:40And they've made him work.

00:31:42Basically, what we've said before the series in our film breakdown.

00:31:45It's Nikhil Alexander-Walker.

00:31:47It's Jonathan Kaminga.

00:31:48It's Dyson Daniels.

00:31:50It's Jalen Johnson.

00:31:51It's Nyeka Okungu.

00:31:52It's all these guys.

00:31:54Like, whoever gets matched up with him.

00:31:56Some more than others.

00:31:57It's been more Dyson Daniels these last couple of games.

00:32:01But it's been a difficult matchup for him.

00:32:03This is why you need to be a little bit more Kat-centric.

00:32:08But not in an overly predictable way.

00:32:11And this is also why you need OG Ananobi to play the way he's been playing.

00:32:15I think he's going to be unsung for a lot of people.

00:32:17Because Kat's been a lightning rod for a lot of Knicks fans.

00:32:21And a lot of Knicks media for this series.

00:32:24But OG now, back-to-back games, has been just awesome in terms of the shot making.

00:32:29I mean, his shots nearly won you that last game.

00:32:32Because of what he did in the fourth quarter.

00:32:34He winds up with 22 and 10 rebounds.

00:32:37So just quietly.

00:32:38He's been great on the glass in the series.

00:32:39Yeah, quietly pulls down 10 rebounds again.

00:32:40He's been great.

00:32:41He's their best two-way player.

00:32:43He's their high-level role player.

00:32:44He's been as advertised.

00:32:46And, like, these are the kinds of things you need.

00:32:48And we also talked about the bench contributions.

00:32:50Deuce McBride got it to a rhythm late.

00:32:52Some of his points were kind of in garbage time.

00:32:53But he looked pretty good.

00:32:55Jose was a tone setter.

00:32:57Was a stabilizer for them.

00:32:59And was one of the big reasons why they won those non-Brunson minutes.

00:33:04Huge.

00:33:04I think he's the reason.

00:33:06Yeah.

00:33:07Him and Kat.

00:33:08I think the fact you were able to play him in lineups where they actually had that first lineup that

00:33:11we saw to start the second quarter.

00:33:12Where it was him, Bridges, Kat, Deuce, and Clarkson.

00:33:19Clarkson was out there.

00:33:20Were on the floor.

00:33:21And before they then brought back in OG and brought up.

00:33:23And it was good.

00:33:25And that unit got stabilized.

00:33:26Even when Atlanta made a little push, they were fine.

00:33:29I think Alvarado was a huge part of that.

00:33:31Yeah.

00:33:33I loved it.

00:33:34And I think Deuce, I think you've got to be encouraged about the way he shot the ball.

00:33:37I know he only had one field goal attempt at halftime.

00:33:40And then he ended up getting up seven shots.

00:33:42And he was 0 of 1.

00:33:43He finished as 4 of 7 and 3 of 6 from downtown.

00:33:46So you liked what he did.

00:33:48Turned around.

00:33:48He's been shooting the ball better.

00:33:50Sham it out the rotation.

00:33:51Only three minutes tonight.

00:33:52Played in garbage time.

00:33:53I found that interesting.

00:33:56But this is what you asked for.

00:33:58For all the Mike Brown critics out there.

00:34:00And we'll get to questions and stuff in the comments.

00:34:03For all the Mike Brown court critics out there.

00:34:08You got to give a man credit when he's making adjustments.

00:34:13And we're going to go to postgame because Cat is at the podium here.

00:34:18So we're going to jump in one second.

00:34:19But what I'll say is you got to give a man credit when he's made adjustments.

00:34:25He changed up the lineup today.

00:34:27He did not stay rigid to one thing.

00:34:29He's been like that throughout the whole season.

00:34:31He's got that Gatorade flavor.

00:34:32And I love it.

00:34:33Cat's still on the Gatorade that he was last time.

00:34:36But hey, let's do this.

00:34:36Let's go to the postgame presser where we have the MVP of the game for the New York Knicks in

00:34:41Game 4.

00:34:42That is Carlton E. Towns.

00:34:4320 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists with a triple-double.

00:34:45Let's hear what he had to say.

00:34:48Storms and being the ones to initiate physicality today.

00:34:53That's a great team over there.

00:34:55Very well-coached team.

00:34:56So we understood that in a pivotal game like tonight, we needed to be our best.

00:35:01I thought we not only met the challenge, but we exceeded the expectation in the moment.

00:35:06And that's what you expect a team that has experience like us to do.

00:35:10Carl, it kind of seemed like you were just making every right read.

00:35:15Pumping and driving to the hoop or facilitating from the elbow, whatever it was.

00:35:19Do you feel like you can get in a decision-making hot streak?

00:35:23Is that a thing?

00:35:25Yeah, I thought today, good observation.

00:35:29I think that the difference for me today than other days,

00:35:31and I felt I did a good job playmaking this series.

00:35:34It wasn't said of trying to lead people to a spot.

00:35:36I just passed it to where they were and let them make the decision.

00:35:39And I thought that helped me a lot today, getting my teammates the ball earlier

00:35:43and allowing them to make a decision and then convert on those plays.

00:35:47So just being aggressive and playmaking and trying to be playing quarterback at those spots when I got the ball.

00:35:55Carl, so much of conversation around the Knicks when you guys lose is how much or how little you are

00:36:02utilized.

00:36:02So coming into today, was it an emphasis of yours or did it come from the coaching staff

00:36:07that you were going to be a hub offensively and be able to make decisions?

00:36:10Where did that adjustment come from?

00:36:12Did that game plan or did you see that?

00:36:16I don't know.

00:36:16I just feel like opportunities presented themselves and my teammates, you know, made it happen today.

00:36:23They made great cuts and allowed me to make those plays you guys are talking about and playmaking.

00:36:28So it's a shout-out to my teammates making great moves to the basket

00:36:33and allowing me to utilize my skill.

00:36:36Carl, I think Josh started out a lot on CJ.

00:36:40I just wanted to know, like, what kind of a lift did he give you guys in that first quarter

00:36:45when it was important for you guys to start out strong on the road?

00:36:48I mean, Josh was special.

00:36:50I think everybody was special.

00:36:52And honestly, too, you know, shout-out to Mikhail.

00:36:55I mean, he did a great job of getting us going early and bringing that energy and that spark that

00:36:59was needed.

00:37:00And, you know, who knows where our team would be tonight if it wasn't for him bringing that kind of

00:37:05spark early in the game.

00:37:06It got us going.

00:37:07It got us understanding the tenacity we needed to play with.

00:37:10And we kind of rode that momentum throughout the rest of the game.

00:37:14You talked about that tenacity.

00:37:26Carl, you talked about that tenacity and sense of desperation you guys played with.

00:37:31How do you bottle that up and continue it, you know, now that you're no longer behind in the series

00:37:36almost?

00:37:37I mean, experience teaches you a lot.

00:37:41Yeah, I mean, just because we won one game, you know, playoffs is always you win a game.

00:37:46You're the best team in the world, highs to highs.

00:37:47And then when you lose, you're the low, low, and the worst team ever.

00:37:50So just staying on the way of being in that middle ground

00:37:54and just consistently trying to find ways to get better and improve as the series goes along.

00:37:59You know, next game is going to be the most important game,

00:38:01the most desperation we need to present to the fans and to ourselves.

00:38:05And it's going to be important for us to protect home court, especially with our fans in our home.

00:38:12Okay, speaking of the fans, could you feel the Knicks fans tonight?

00:38:15I mean, the Knicks fans travel all around the world.

00:38:18You know, it's even more special.

00:38:20I already knew how special the Knicks fans were from last year,

00:38:23but to be going to Abu Dhabi in preseason and see the stadium packed with Knicks fans is crazy.

00:38:29So they travel around the world.

00:38:32They bring us so much love and energy and just passion

00:38:36that you could just feel that kind of passion in the building,

00:38:41and it helps us feel like every game we play, no matter if it's away

00:38:44or in Abu Dhabi, around the world, it's a home game.

00:38:48One question for each year, starting with OG.

00:38:50Just first, what did you like about the team's response

00:38:52after those two tough losses that you guys came off of?

00:38:55Just our intensity.

00:38:56You know, we came out, we were physical from the start.

00:39:00We got stops and then ran on offense, moved the ball.

00:39:04Guys were hitting shots, and it's just the energy.

00:39:06It was really infectious.

00:39:08And then, Kat, just with all the assists, I'm wondering what's the feeling for you

00:39:12when you're able to find somebody with one of those passes and they're able to convert

00:39:15and then you start to look up and you see the assist count going one, two, four, six, ten.

00:39:20I mean, I don't know if I was looking up for that,

00:39:22but, you know, just to see my teammates being special

00:39:25and to be able to get them involved is something I truly enjoy even more than hitting a shot,

00:39:32just to see people like OG consistently making the right read on the cut, the back door,

00:39:37whatever the case may be against the defense, and doing something special is, you know,

00:39:41it brings me joy and it brings me the most energy back.

00:39:44OG, can you talk about what it's like to play with a guy like that

00:39:49who's able to see you when you're moving, maybe read where you're going

00:39:52and get you in those places time after time?

00:39:55I mean, he's a special talent, you know, he can do it all.

00:39:59And I know if I get open, he'll find me.

00:40:01No matter how tight the window is, he'll be able to find me.

00:40:05And, you know, it's amazing playing with a player like him.

00:40:09Kat, as you guys head back to New York for Game 5,

00:40:13every game, of course, has presented a new challenge.

00:40:16What do you think will be some keys to Game 5 to coming out with a victory?

00:40:20I mean, we got to exceed the desperation, the intensity we had today.

00:40:24You know, it's going to be very important for us to execute even at a higher level.

00:40:34And, you know, they're going to make adjustments.

00:40:35They've got a great coaching staff over there, a great head coach.

00:40:38You know, they're going to make adjustments.

00:40:39They're going to come back with an even better game plan,

00:40:42and we have to be able to counteract that game plan.

00:40:44So these two days are going to be very important.

00:40:47All right.

00:40:48Just a minute.

00:40:49Just a minute.

00:40:50Just a minute.

00:40:51Just a minute.

00:40:52Yeah.

00:40:53Oh, Ken, you didn't have a Magic Johnson.

00:40:57That's your, like, inspiration.

00:40:59I know it's just a minute.

00:41:00Yeah.

00:41:00These are kind of performances where you practice and really hold it on

00:41:05just because the playmaking ability that he has.

00:41:10Yeah, I mean, it's, like you said, he's been a big inspiration in my life.

00:41:15And to be able to have this moment is great,

00:41:18but it's more important that to be able to have this moment with this team

00:41:21and my teammates and these brothers in this locker room, it means a lot.

00:41:25And, you know, like Magic, I just always talk about impact and winning.

00:41:30And to be able to amplify my teammates is one of the greatest honors I could have.

00:41:35All right.

00:41:35We're going to do one more, Kat, and then two more, OJ.

00:41:38Kat, I know you're in the middle of a tough playoff series,

00:41:40but your good friend, Nikhil, was awarded Most Improved Player yesterday.

00:41:43Just wondering if you had some thoughts and comments on that,

00:41:45knowing you played with him, of course, in Minnesota.

00:41:47I mean, Nikhil's special.

00:41:49I've always known how special Akil was.

00:41:53To be able to see a team welcome, you know, his talent

00:41:58and allow him to use all of his talent and feel at home, it's really special.

00:42:04And, you know, obviously honored that I was able to play with him in Minnesota

00:42:09and that the world was able to get a glimpse of what he could do

00:42:11and the impact he could make on the team, especially in the playoffs.

00:42:14But for him to be here, to be welcomed by the fans, by the organization,

00:42:18and allow him to be him at a full picture is something special.

00:42:26He's an amazing player, even better person, an amazing family.

00:42:30He's an amazing father.

00:42:32I've been able to see that firsthand.

00:42:33It's one of the biggest honors I've ever had in my life.

00:42:35So shout out to him.

00:42:37He deserves that award.

00:42:39And he's worked his whole entire life to prove to the fans of the NBA

00:42:44and to not only that, to himself, that he is truly the player he thinks he is.

00:42:48And I've always told him and I've always known that the player that he thinks he is

00:42:53is exactly who he is, but even more.

00:42:56And I'm so happy that that award shows all the work that he's put in

00:42:59and all the trials and tribulations he's went through to get to this point was worth it.

00:43:05All right.

00:43:06Thanks, guys.

00:43:07Hey, OG, I mean, we all see you're shooting.

00:43:10Obviously, you're shooting at a very high level.

00:43:12But I'm just curious, with the rebounding numbers have been pretty high this series,

00:43:17is that a concerted effort by you to do more there, or is it just happenstance?

00:43:22I mean, it's a team effort, for sure.

00:43:25We want to control the boards.

00:43:27And then, just depending on who I'm guarding, when I'm on the perimeter,

00:43:30sometimes it's harder to get rebounds.

00:43:33But I'm making an emphasis on coming in and crashing the boards,

00:43:37helping the team finish possessions.

00:43:41OG, just with, you know, you're shooting the last couple of games,

00:43:44what have you liked about the looks that you're getting?

00:43:49Just shooting, no matter of.

00:43:50I'm contested, I'm not contested.

00:43:52You know, I work very hard on my game, so I always think it's going in.

00:43:57OG, Josh has been...

00:43:59Last one, guys.

00:44:00Josh has been especially aggressive and especially good guarding the point of attack in this series,

00:44:05whether it's CJ, whether it's Jalen Johnson.

00:44:08A lot of the time, you're like the low man in that situation.

00:44:12When he's that aggressive and that successful, being aggressive at the point of attack,

00:44:16how does that affect the way that you operate on the back end?

00:44:20It makes it easier because it gives me more time to rotate towards the rim

00:44:24and then also make a read on if he's going to pick up his dribble,

00:44:27if the ball handler's going to pick up his dribble,

00:44:29or if he's going to the rim, like, full speed because Josh is pressuring him.

00:44:33So it just makes it easier what to do.

00:44:35And, you know, like you said, he's doing an amazing job being physical,

00:44:38getting into the ball, speeding guys up, and that's what he does.

00:44:42All right, guys.

00:44:43All right.

00:44:43And, Jalen, come in here.

00:44:45All right.

00:44:50All right.

00:44:50We heard from Carl D. Towns and OG Ananobi, some interesting stuff there.

00:44:55Cat talking about the physicality to start the game,

00:44:58about him doing a great job of playmaking, which we talked about, the cutting.

00:45:03But he gave a lot of credit to his teammates.

00:45:05He should.

00:45:06As he should because you don't get assists if they don't cut and make the baskets.

00:45:09And then make the baskets.

00:45:10A lot is to happen.

00:45:12You know, he used to be a willing passer, but you've got to cut and make the baskets.

00:45:15He gave Mikel Bridges a shout-out, which I found interesting.

00:45:18Yeah.

00:45:19And I don't think it was an unfair shout-out.

00:45:21He said Mikel did a great job early of giving us the energy we needed,

00:45:24particularly on the defensive end.

00:45:26He's not wrong about that.

00:45:27He said, who knows where our team would be if he didn't bring that energy early?

00:45:31And I take that two ways.

00:45:35One, I think he's saying something that was true,

00:45:37because Mikel was good early defensively and offensively early.

00:45:44He did his disappearing act.

00:45:46But it's also trying to help build up the confidence in your teammate.

00:45:51Yes.

00:45:51That's what I took it more so as.

00:45:53And leadership comes in many different forms.

00:45:58They come from different people on the team.

00:45:59He plays 19 minutes.

00:46:00You want to make sure he's still.

00:46:01Yeah, he only played four minutes in the second half.

00:46:03Listen, early on in the series,

00:46:06we were talking about how well he defended Nikhil Alexander-Walker.

00:46:09To pull this series out,

00:46:10you're probably going to need another big contribution from him.

00:46:13Because, again, this team is going to need it from everybody.

00:46:15You don't have a Nikoli Okic.

00:46:16You know what I mean?

00:46:17Where one guy could just kind of.

00:46:20And, by the way, the NBA is like,

00:46:22the way it's built now and balanced now,

00:46:25you can't just win off of one guy anymore.

00:46:27No.

00:46:27As it is.

00:46:27You can't do it.

00:46:28It's such a balanced league.

00:46:29So, some good stuff from him.

00:46:30And, you know, OG, who's usually a quiet guy,

00:46:33did talk about his process

00:46:34and how he was able to play off a cat,

00:46:37liking their intensity, the physicality.

00:46:39So, those are two words you saw a lot.

00:46:41But, look, this is what we'll say before we get to comments.

00:46:45This game is going to come.

00:46:46The Knicks back was against the wall,

00:46:47and they responded like they should.

00:46:48They responded.

00:46:49Kat talked about that, too.

00:46:50But.

00:46:51They need to.

00:46:52Keep that desperation.

00:46:54He used the desperation word.

00:46:56They need to keep that desperation word.

00:46:58He said, exceed it.

00:46:59Exceed it.

00:47:00Exceed the desperation that Atlanta's going to have.

00:47:01That's going to have.

00:47:02That they had, rather.

00:47:03That they had for this game.

00:47:04He's right.

00:47:05Because Atlanta's going to come in knowing

00:47:06they don't want to go back home down 3-2.

00:47:08Right.

00:47:09They don't want to know that their only chance is in a game seven.

00:47:12Even though this is house money for them

00:47:15in terms of what the media narrative may be,

00:47:17but they want to win this series.

00:47:18Right.

00:47:18We look at all the stuff with the game three.

00:47:20Game five is a swing game, too.

00:47:21It's a big game, especially at home.

00:47:24I think the Knicks have to come out with the right intensity.

00:47:26We'll wrap on that.

00:47:27But I thought the guys talking about that

00:47:29and Kat talking about that,

00:47:31this team seems to have responded well.

00:47:33But here's the thing.

00:47:34They backed up their talk

00:47:35and said what they would do in this game

00:47:37and what they needed to do

00:47:38and do some bride talks before this game

00:47:40and fighting for their lives.

00:47:42But now you've got to go do it again.

00:47:44And the big word I take out of this is trust.

00:47:47And I saw somebody mention in the chat

00:47:49and I thought they were right.

00:47:50They trusted the process.

00:47:52No Sixers.

00:47:53They trusted the process

00:47:55and they stuck with it

00:47:56and they got it done.

00:47:58They played...

00:47:59JM3-00.

00:48:00Yeah, shout out to JM3-00.

00:48:01Yeah.

00:48:03He's right.

00:48:05And he also said that Jalen Bruss is great.

00:48:08He needs to trust his team a little bit more.

00:48:10You're not wrong about that

00:48:11when you see certain things in the shot selection.

00:48:14He's got to trust the process, too,

00:48:15even when it's not going for him.

00:48:18Right?

00:48:18And listen, he didn't take as many shots tonight.

00:48:20I didn't love the shot selection all the time.

00:48:23The turnover's terrible.

00:48:25I'll harp on that again.

00:48:27But if this team trusts in the process

00:48:29and sees this is how we can win,

00:48:31it's not going to be a complete rinse and repeat

00:48:33because Atlanta's going to make some adjustments.

00:48:34A hundred percent.

00:48:35But at least you can say,

00:48:37yo, when things get tight,

00:48:38we do this,

00:48:39we can close better.

00:48:40We can execute better.

00:48:42We can adjust to more things.

00:48:44Mike Brown made his adjustments.

00:48:45Quinn Snyder's going to make his adjustments.

00:48:46But the players still got to execute.

00:48:48So I was glad to see the players

00:48:50execute better in this one.

00:48:51Thank you, everybody,

00:48:52for watching with us

00:48:53on this New York Got Game

00:48:55Knicks post-game show.

00:48:56Knicks with a win over the Hawks.

00:48:59114-98.

00:49:00A fantastic win for them.

00:49:02Let's look at some of the comments

00:49:04that we had in here.

00:49:06A lot of you guys were checking in.

00:49:08Hit that like button.

00:49:08Hit that subscribe button.

00:49:09A lot of you guys had good stuff.

00:49:10A lot of you guys were talking about Jalen Brunson.

00:49:12And I know,

00:49:13I was going back here,

00:49:15I know we will go into Jalen Brunson.

00:49:18You know,

00:49:19the team could be better without him.

00:49:22All this other stuff.

00:49:22DJ Crayol says,

00:49:24no cat, no rings.

00:49:29Look, man.

00:49:29I don't know if you're getting a ring, period.

00:49:32Just,

00:49:33let's worry about the first round first.

00:49:37But I get the sentiment.

00:49:39Cat's important to what this team does.

00:49:40Correct.

00:49:42We have a long way to go

00:49:43before we can talk about rings.

00:49:45With this group,

00:49:46the way the East is,

00:49:47the chaos,

00:49:48and yeah.

00:49:48Cat's important to what this team does.

00:49:50You need,

00:49:51and we said this would be the series for Cat, too.

00:49:54If we're looked ahead to even Boston,

00:49:57his role might be a little bit different.

00:49:58But we can talk about that when we get there.

00:50:01And outline that.

00:50:03I do think Cat is obviously very important in this series.

00:50:06And we felt like this would be a better series for him

00:50:08than Jalen and so far

00:50:11that has played out.

00:50:14Especially today.

00:50:15Like, you really saw it today.

00:50:17And it's really,

00:50:17it's matchup dependent.

00:50:18Like, Atlanta just doesn't have a lot of answers for Cat.

00:50:21They have a lot of answers for slowing down

00:50:23Jalen Brunson and forcing difficult shots.

00:50:25And has he missed a handful of shots

00:50:28that he probably would make more often?

00:50:30Sure.

00:50:30Absolutely.

00:50:31But you still don't want him to have to

00:50:34take all those shots

00:50:35if the process,

00:50:37going back to what you were saying,

00:50:38is better.

00:50:39Leah Sim 08 says,

00:50:41Clarkson locked down Kaminga.

00:50:43That's a fact.

00:50:44He was not alone.

00:50:45Nope.

00:50:47Kaminga was neutralized.

00:50:48He was forced to take a lot of threes, Leah.

00:50:51And I think that was another thing

00:50:52that they did really well

00:50:54is the guys who want to get downhill.

00:50:56They just forced them to take shots in the perimeter.

00:50:58And what Atlanta was doing well

00:51:00against the Knicks earlier in the series

00:51:02and forcing them,

00:51:03game two especially,

00:51:04toward the end,

00:51:05forcing them to take shots late in the clock.

00:51:08The Knicks were doing that a lot today.

00:51:10The Knicks were forcing Atlanta

00:51:11to take shots late in the clock.

00:51:13Five, four, three,

00:51:15you know,

00:51:15just tough shots late in the clock.

00:51:17Whenever you're shooting late in the clock,

00:51:18they're usually contested.

00:51:19It's a step back three

00:51:21that you don't really want to take.

00:51:22It's somebody taking the shot

00:51:23who you don't really want to take that shot.

00:51:25So I think they did a really good job.

00:51:27But yeah,

00:51:27Jordan Clarkson's defensive energy,

00:51:29as we've talked about,

00:51:30has been,

00:51:30I mean,

00:51:31has been a constant,

00:51:33it's been a surprise for a lot of people,

00:51:34but it's been a pretty consistent thing

00:51:36for a while now.

00:51:37So that's a good shout out.

00:51:39Yeah, no,

00:51:39he's been really good

00:51:42for the Knicks.

00:51:43I think you have to like

00:51:45what they got off the bench

00:51:46in totality in this game.

00:51:48I know we talked about Jose Alvarado,

00:51:50but I thought,

00:51:51you know,

00:51:51and then Leah was talking about

00:51:53the fact that Clarkson

00:51:54locked down Kaminga,

00:51:55but his defense has been really good.

00:51:57Throughout the season.

00:51:59Got to give a shout out

00:52:01to our guy,

00:52:02East Blue Drew,

00:52:04who's in here.

00:52:05He says,

00:52:06shout out,

00:52:06Rick Brunson,

00:52:07beat up your kids,

00:52:08beat your kids,

00:52:09people.

00:52:10I'm not saying y'all should beat the kids,

00:52:12but sometimes you need some tough love,

00:52:14right?

00:52:14Sometimes you need some tough love,

00:52:16and there's nothing wrong

00:52:18with a little tough love,

00:52:20and the Knicks gave some tough love

00:52:22in this one.

00:52:23The Knicks gave some tough love

00:52:25in this one.

00:52:25So shout out to East Blue Drew

00:52:27in the building.

00:52:28Always good to see you here

00:52:31on the chat there.

00:52:32Yeah.

00:52:33Listen,

00:52:33some people may look,

00:52:34I didn't look at that in the game.

00:52:35Tell me if I'm wrong on this,

00:52:36Brian.

00:52:36I didn't look at that

00:52:37when I saw that during the game.

00:52:38It was like,

00:52:40oh man,

00:52:40like something's wrong there.

00:52:43No.

00:52:43Everybody's competitive in that,

00:52:44and I'm sure

00:52:46Rick was telling him

00:52:47that he's been sloppy

00:52:48with the ball

00:52:48and the shot selection.

00:52:49I still argue with my dad sometimes.

00:52:51You know what I mean?

00:52:52And you don't work

00:52:54with your dad every day.

00:52:55Right.

00:52:55Imagine if you work with him.

00:52:57I don't even live with him anymore.

00:52:58You know what I mean?

00:53:00I still,

00:53:01yeah,

00:53:01we still go at it.

00:53:02I grew up arguing with my father.

00:53:03You know what I'm saying?

00:53:04You grew up arguing with that.

00:53:04You sound like,

00:53:05you seem like you grew up

00:53:05arguing with everybody.

00:53:06It's just,

00:53:07you know,

00:53:07it's a thing.

00:53:09You know what I'm saying?

00:53:09It's a thing with us.

00:53:10You got that Jose Alvarado in him

00:53:12is what he's saying.

00:53:14That's nothing to me.

00:53:15I grew up,

00:53:16I grew up arguing with my dad

00:53:18because I was a little smartass

00:53:20who,

00:53:20you know,

00:53:20whatever.

00:53:21But like,

00:53:21yeah,

00:53:21you still are.

00:53:22Yeah,

00:53:23thank you.

00:53:23That was shit to me.

00:53:24If I go back a little earlier

00:53:25because we had a couple,

00:53:26Smooth Will said,

00:53:28peace,

00:53:28Smooth Will.

00:53:29Also said they showed

00:53:30what they were made of tonight.

00:53:32They must continue this momentum.

00:53:34I agree.

00:53:35Showing what they made of

00:53:36is like a very important point

00:53:38because this could have gone

00:53:40in a different direction

00:53:40and we would have had

00:53:42a much different conversation

00:53:43and tone.

00:53:44And so when you guys have,

00:53:47and he said that he gave more respect

00:53:49for Rick Brunson tonight,

00:53:51the team needed his tongue

00:53:52lashing of his son,

00:53:53if that's what it was.

00:53:54Listen.

00:53:55I'm not even sure

00:53:55what the context of it was.

00:53:57But if something,

00:53:58listen,

00:53:58I don't know if anybody's

00:53:59more equipped on that coach

00:54:00if they have to go

00:54:01and tell Jalen Brunson

00:54:01something than his dad.

00:54:03And,

00:54:03you know,

00:54:06tough conversations

00:54:06sometimes need to happen

00:54:07in workplaces.

00:54:09People need to be better.

00:54:10Even with family.

00:54:11Rick Brunson knows

00:54:12his son has been

00:54:13not good this series.

00:54:14Jalen Brunson knows

00:54:15that himself.

00:54:17Now he's got to go out

00:54:18and execute it.

00:54:19And I'm willing to say

00:54:20this is probably

00:54:20not a series for him.

00:54:22Every series

00:54:22is not for every player,

00:54:24but what great teams

00:54:25can do is

00:54:26they've got the other guys

00:54:27doing the job.

00:54:28They can get it done.

00:54:29You know,

00:54:30I'm not watching

00:54:31the Denver Nuggets

00:54:32and Minnesota Timberwolves

00:54:34game going right now,

00:54:35but Nikola Jokic

00:54:36is not having himself

00:54:37a great series

00:54:38and he's the best player

00:54:38in the world.

00:54:39He's having a terrible series.

00:54:41Rudy Robert,

00:54:41Brian's boy,

00:54:42has been locking him down.

00:54:43He's not my boy.

00:54:44He's been playing

00:54:44better tonight, though.

00:54:45Jokic's playing better tonight.

00:54:46I'll say that.

00:54:46So, these things happen.

00:54:48Yeah.

00:54:48Best players on teams

00:54:50have bad series

00:54:50against certain matchups.

00:54:52It doesn't work for them.

00:54:53It happens.

00:54:54Would it shock me

00:54:55if the Knicks

00:54:55got to the next round

00:54:56and the Knicks

00:54:56played Boston

00:54:57and Brunson

00:54:57is the most better series?

00:54:58No, it would shock me.

00:54:59This is why

00:55:00you can't go that crazy.

00:55:01Series are long.

00:55:02The NBA playoffs,

00:55:03the league,

00:55:04you've been saying this

00:55:04all through the playoffs,

00:55:05the league is more balanced

00:55:06than it's ever been.

00:55:07Yeah.

00:55:07We are seeing that

00:55:08here in the playoffs.

00:55:09Detroit just lost again today.

00:55:10We've seen it for years,

00:55:11as a matter of fact.

00:55:12Yeah, so it's like,

00:55:12but I think people still

00:55:13look at the things

00:55:14in like the 80s, 90s,

00:55:16early 2000s.

00:55:16We're conditioned

00:55:17to think like the best

00:55:18because we were told

00:55:19forever, like,

00:55:20like even Zach Loso

00:55:21says the NBA

00:55:22is the most predictable

00:55:23major league.

00:55:24I'm like,

00:55:24that's changed.

00:55:25I think we're past that.

00:55:27Yeah, I think there's a lot.

00:55:27We've had multiple,

00:55:29this decade,

00:55:30we've had multiple five seasons

00:55:31make it to the finals.

00:55:32No repeat champions.

00:55:32We had eight seasons

00:55:33made it to the finals.

00:55:34No repeat champions.

00:55:35Like, I don't think it's,

00:55:36if it was that predictable,

00:55:38then, I mean,

00:55:39Jokic would just win

00:55:39every year, OKC,

00:55:41and OKC could win

00:55:41again this year,

00:55:43but it's not,

00:55:45it's not what it used to be.

00:55:46Like, we always,

00:55:46and lately we've been getting

00:55:48at least a surprise team

00:55:49in the finals.

00:55:50Indiana, Dallas, Miami,

00:55:53like, it just tends to happen,

00:55:54so.

00:55:55I think people get

00:55:56into these things

00:55:57that are said around sports

00:55:58and it's been repeated

00:55:59for so long

00:55:59that they're,

00:56:00and they're not watching

00:56:01and seeing when the thing

00:56:02shifts from being true

00:56:03what used to be true.

00:56:04You know,

00:56:05we've heard all these things.

00:56:06I remember back

00:56:06when it was like,

00:56:07you can't win

00:56:08with a jump shooting team.

00:56:09The Warriors disprove that,

00:56:11right?

00:56:11Or you can't win

00:56:12with a scoring point guard.

00:56:13A couple of players

00:56:14have disproved that,

00:56:15including Steph Curry.

00:56:17Like,

00:56:17these,

00:56:18nothing has to be true

00:56:20the whole time.

00:56:20Things evolve.

00:56:21Sports evolves.

00:56:22Sports changes.

00:56:23The NBA has evolved.

00:56:24And it's a different league.

00:56:25So,

00:56:26I say this respectfully

00:56:27to everybody,

00:56:28forget what you knew.

00:56:29Sometimes it doesn't matter.

00:56:31What you knew

00:56:32that happened in the 80s,

00:56:33like,

00:56:33it doesn't matter.

00:56:34It's a different game.

00:56:35The league is different.

00:56:37It is more balanced.

00:56:39I'm good on that.

00:56:40Yeah.

00:56:41That's fine.

00:56:41I knew you were going to say

00:56:42the same thing.

00:56:43So,

00:56:43you know,

00:56:44that is good.

00:56:46Oh,

00:56:47Anthony Edwards got held

00:56:48to the locker room,

00:56:48by the way,

00:56:49speaking of that.

00:56:49And Dante DiVincenzo.

00:56:50Somebody said Dante DiVincenzo

00:56:52might have an Achilles injury.

00:56:53So,

00:56:53his knee,

00:56:54his knee,

00:56:54he left because of a knee.

00:56:56At least that's what it was called.

00:56:58I don't know how bad it was,

00:56:59but

00:57:01not ideal.

00:57:02Park Alford says,

00:57:03we will win in six.

00:57:04Thanks again to Cat,

00:57:05OG Mitch,

00:57:06and Jordan Clarkson.

00:57:07Watch.

00:57:08Look,

00:57:09Knicks fans,

00:57:09I get the confidence is back.

00:57:10The Knicks still,

00:57:11to me,

00:57:12the Knicks still got to show

00:57:12the same energy

00:57:13and take the lead in the series.

00:57:14Again,

00:57:15you got to regain the lead

00:57:16and get back up 3-2.

00:57:18I understand the confidence.

00:57:19Regain the lead,

00:57:20go down Atlanta

00:57:21and close it out in six.

00:57:22I understand the confidence.

00:57:23I think Atlanta's going to have

00:57:24something to say.

00:57:25As Terry Clark said the other day,

00:57:27playing off the quote

00:57:28of the great three stacks

00:57:31from OutKaz.

00:57:32Pastor Troy performed today,

00:57:33didn't he?

00:57:34Damn.

00:57:34He did.

00:57:35The only one

00:57:36when Pastor Troy performs.

00:57:38So,

00:57:38there we go.

00:57:40Like Pastor Troy.

00:57:41J.M. 3-0 said,

00:57:42not great in this series.

00:57:43Talking about Brunson,

00:57:44I agree in my opinion.

00:57:45Kaz is the best Knick

00:57:46in the series.

00:57:47Yeah,

00:57:47we thought he could be

00:57:48and he has been.

00:57:49He has been.

00:57:50OG makes a push argument.

00:57:51I was going to say,

00:57:53OG's giving him a rough game.

00:57:54And then I probably put

00:57:55Josh Hart behind him

00:57:55because I think Josh Hart

00:57:56Josh Hart was the best

00:57:57through the first two games.

00:57:58Two games.

00:57:58And I think he had a down game

00:58:00in game three

00:58:00and it bounced back today

00:58:01with a really good

00:58:03Josh Hart game.

00:58:03So, yeah.

00:58:04And, you know,

00:58:05Parker Alfred said,

00:58:05yeah, OG has been

00:58:06the best Knick.

00:58:07I mean,

00:58:07it might be OG.

00:58:08If you want to say OG,

00:58:09I don't think that's crazy.

00:58:11Because if we're factoring,

00:58:12you have to factor in,

00:58:13we factor in defense

00:58:13more than I think

00:58:14a lot of the other,

00:58:15a lot of our other

00:58:17contemporaries.

00:58:18Let's do.

00:58:18So, I'm fine with

00:58:19somebody says,

00:58:20someone says OG.

00:58:21JM3O says,

00:58:22I just want to play

00:58:23smart basketball

00:58:23on both sides of the ball.

00:58:24Yeah.

00:58:25Yeah.

00:58:26Yeah.

00:58:27Yeah.

00:58:27That's,

00:58:29JM3O,

00:58:29that's what it takes

00:58:30to win.

00:58:31You're going to have

00:58:31to play smart basketball

00:58:32and execute on both

00:58:33sides of the ball.

00:58:34The Knicks did that

00:58:35tonight.

00:58:35They were focused.

00:58:36They played basically

00:58:37a full 48.

00:58:39I'm sure Mike Brown

00:58:39would look at the tape

00:58:40and say they could

00:58:40have done more,

00:58:40but he basically

00:58:41played a full 48

00:58:42and I thought

00:58:43that was good.

00:58:44Parker Alfred

00:58:45against the OG

00:58:45Cat Mitch

00:58:46held the ground

00:58:47and JC scores some.

00:58:48We will be all right.

00:58:50Listen,

00:58:50and you're talking

00:58:51about Jordan Clarkson.

00:58:53Jordan Clarkson

00:58:54has seven points

00:58:54off the bench.

00:58:55Jordan Clarkson

00:58:56is giving you

00:58:56some timely buckets.

00:58:57And that's what I'll

00:58:57call about Jordan Clarkson's

00:58:58play in the series,

00:58:59right?

00:59:00He hasn't had that game

00:59:00where it'll still be

00:59:01like 13, 15 off the bench.

00:59:03He's not even really

00:59:03shooting threes,

00:59:04which has been interesting

00:59:05in how he's changed

00:59:06his game.

00:59:06He's not trying

00:59:07to do too much.

00:59:07He's not trying

00:59:08to do too much,

00:59:08but he's just doing enough.

00:59:10Hold his own on defense

00:59:11to get your offensive rebound,

00:59:12although he did not

00:59:12have any rebounds

00:59:13in this game tonight.

00:59:15He gave you seven points.

00:59:16He's playing winning

00:59:17basketball.

00:59:17Yeah,

00:59:17Juice is starting to get it.

00:59:19Alvarado,

00:59:19that's what it came

00:59:20off the bench.

00:59:20Everybody off the bench

00:59:22played winning basketball.

00:59:25Mitchell Robinson

00:59:25had more minutes

00:59:26tonight, 15 points.

00:59:27How many minutes

00:59:28did Cat finish with?

00:59:29Cat finished with...

00:59:31I know he came out...

00:59:3229 minutes.

00:59:3429 only.

00:59:35Wow.

00:59:36Because then he came...

00:59:36He had the injury

00:59:37and then they also

00:59:38had a blowout victory.

00:59:39Yeah,

00:59:39so they didn't need him.

00:59:4129 minutes for Cat,

00:59:42which is also impressive

00:59:43that he got his triple-double

00:59:44in that time.

00:59:44That tells you how efficient

00:59:46his game was tonight.

00:59:46Only a 10 shots.

00:59:47Only a 10 shots.

00:59:48That's all he needed.

00:59:49He was getting to the line,

00:59:50though.

00:59:50He was aggressive.

00:59:51He was aggressive

00:59:52in the right spots.

00:59:53He was.

00:59:53I give Cat all the credit

00:59:54in the world.

00:59:55Great game.

00:59:56It's a great game.

00:59:57He was hitting the spot.

00:59:58Listen,

00:59:58in closing,

01:00:00Knicks fans,

01:00:01you should feel good.

01:00:02But don't think

01:00:03Atlanta's just gonna

01:00:04roll over here.

01:00:05And the Knicks cannot,

01:00:07while they're smiling,

01:00:08they're gonna get back

01:00:09on the plane up to New York,

01:00:10they cannot be sitting

01:00:13without having

01:00:14that same energy.

01:00:15They gotta have that energy

01:00:16that they had today.

01:00:17They almost gotta play this

01:00:17like they're down 2-1 again.

01:00:19Yeah.

01:00:19Or they're down 3-2.

01:00:21They come with the records

01:00:22and energy

01:00:22and they're focused

01:00:23for the series,

01:00:24they will finish the series.

01:00:24If they don't,

01:00:25they play with their food,

01:00:26they're going to be

01:00:27in trouble again.

01:00:28Yeah.

01:00:28And by trouble again,

01:00:29it doesn't mean

01:00:29being down 3-2.

01:00:30I thought they needed

01:00:31this win.

01:00:31I thought they needed

01:00:32to convince them win

01:00:32like we talked about

01:00:33with J.J.

01:00:34They got that

01:00:35because I think

01:00:36a squeaker with a win

01:00:37would not have had

01:00:37people feeling good.

01:00:38If you're a Knicks fan

01:00:39and you feel good,

01:00:40you should feel good.

01:00:41But I feel good.

01:00:42I wouldn't blame you

01:00:43if you still felt nervous

01:00:44though given that it's 2-2

01:00:46and teams have won

01:00:47at the Garden.

01:00:48I want to see,

01:00:48I feel better,

01:00:51but I want to see

01:00:52back-to-back

01:00:53strong performances.

01:00:54You'll feel good

01:00:54if they replicate this

01:00:56in Game 5.

01:00:56Come home,

01:00:57show your fans

01:00:58a reason to believe.

01:00:59And some of y'all

01:01:00might not feel good

01:01:01until they win the series,

01:01:02which I understand too.

01:01:03I complete,

01:01:04listen.

01:01:04Can't say that

01:01:05somebody's wrong for that.

01:01:05You've seen enough heartbreak,

01:01:06I totally get it.

01:01:08Can't say that

01:01:09somebody's wrong for that.

01:01:09I completely understand.

01:01:10Can't say that

01:01:11somebody's wrong for that.

01:01:12Also,

01:01:12in closing for me,

01:01:15I think one of the adjustments

01:01:17we'll see is Atlanta

01:01:17trying to get back

01:01:18to going downhill.

01:01:19I already talked about

01:01:20the shooting

01:01:20and how many threes

01:01:22that they took

01:01:22and half of their shots

01:01:23coming from three

01:01:24and that's not something

01:01:24they want even though

01:01:25they can't shoot threes.

01:01:26I think they're going

01:01:27to figure out ways

01:01:28to attack the basket more.

01:01:30So,

01:01:30Cat has to be ready

01:01:31to protect the rim.

01:01:32Other guys have to be ready

01:01:33to rotate,

01:01:34not overplay

01:01:34and leave the corner

01:01:35shooters open,

01:01:36which they've done better at.

01:01:38They were good at that today.

01:01:39They have to keep doing that.

01:01:41I'm also not counting

01:01:42on Atlanta

01:01:43just shooting 24%

01:01:44from three again.

01:01:46So,

01:01:47like,

01:01:47there is some

01:01:48correction

01:01:49to be had here.

01:01:51That being said,

01:01:53going back to what

01:01:54JJ talked about

01:01:55during live,

01:01:55when it comes down to it,

01:01:57the Knicks are just

01:01:58the better team.

01:01:59So,

01:01:59if they play like

01:02:00the better team,

01:02:01then they should win

01:02:01this series.

01:02:02That's really it.

01:02:03Yeah.

01:02:03And today,

01:02:04they play like

01:02:04the better team.

01:02:05Yeah.

01:02:05Today,

01:02:06they play like

01:02:06the better team.

01:02:07This is a performance

01:02:08you thought you could

01:02:09have seen from this team

01:02:09through the season.

01:02:10It was not always consistent.

01:02:12You and I talked about it.

01:02:13Maybe it's a little bit

01:02:14sleeping on your opponent.

01:02:15But when you sleep

01:02:16on your opponent,

01:02:16especially in this series,

01:02:18there's a world where

01:02:19the Knicks should be up

01:02:193-1 in this series.

01:02:20Yeah.

01:02:21And the Knicks

01:02:22play with their food

01:02:23in game two.

01:02:23When you play with

01:02:24their food in game two,

01:02:24that's where you're

01:02:24in the position

01:02:25you are now.

01:02:25However,

01:02:26they salvage themselves

01:02:27from being down 3-1.

01:02:28And now it's 2-2.

01:02:30You're home,

01:02:31in front of your fans.

01:02:32You do not need,

01:02:33if you don't want

01:02:34the nervous energy

01:02:34at the Garden,

01:02:35you got to come out

01:02:36with the right energy.

01:02:37because the nervous energy

01:02:38will be there

01:02:39if you're shaky.

01:02:40I agree you think

01:02:41you'll see some adjustments

01:02:41for Atlanta.

01:02:42It's a tall test

01:02:43for them on the road.

01:02:44But what you got to do

01:02:46is if you get off

01:02:47to a good start,

01:02:48then they're able

01:02:48to come back

01:02:49and quiet the crowd

01:02:50a little bit.

01:02:51You got to get the crowd

01:02:52a reason to want

01:02:53to cheer a lot for you

01:02:55so that you can then

01:02:56go down and take care

01:02:57of business in Atlanta

01:02:58in Game 6.

01:02:59Garden cheers

01:02:59are one thing,

01:03:00which you don't want.

01:03:01That garden nervous energy

01:03:02is what I call it.

01:03:03You don't want those

01:03:03garden murmurs.

01:03:04I've ruled.

01:03:06You get on what's

01:03:07going on here.

01:03:07You start the 4th quarter,

01:03:09you're 0-5 from the field,

01:03:10you're hanging on

01:03:11to a 6-point lead,

01:03:12and then it's like,

01:03:13I don't know if I want

01:03:14to go to a consensus

01:03:15stand and get my beer.

01:03:16I get all that.

01:03:18The Knicks have to do that.

01:03:19But we will be

01:03:20with everybody.

01:03:21We will be with you

01:03:22on Tuesday night.

01:03:24The Knicks will be here.

01:03:26Guests to be announced.

01:03:26TBD.

01:03:27We will announce

01:03:28who the guest is.

01:03:28It will be a good one.

01:03:29I'm sure it will be a good one.

01:03:31We want to thank everybody

01:03:32for joining us.

01:03:33Obviously,

01:03:34in the chat,

01:03:34hitting the like button,

01:03:35hitting the subscribe button.

01:03:36Also,

01:03:37special thanks to our guy,

01:03:39John Jastrzemski.

01:03:39You catch him on SNY.

01:03:41Also,

01:03:41the host of the

01:03:42New York,

01:03:42New York podcast,

01:03:43which he now does

01:03:43independently.

01:03:45Check him out there.

01:03:47Does a fantastic job

01:03:48with them.

01:03:48He sat with us

01:03:48during the live show

01:03:49and a little bit

01:03:49for postgame.

01:03:50So,

01:03:51check it out.

01:03:51If you missed

01:03:51some of this postgame,

01:03:53you can rewatch it.

01:03:54It will be up

01:03:55on YouTube.

01:03:55You can also

01:03:57listen to this

01:03:58in podcast form

01:03:59on all digital streaming platforms

01:04:00where you can get

01:04:01New York Got Game.

01:04:02We got a lot of good stuff

01:04:03in New York Got Game.

01:04:04We will have a little preview

01:04:05that I'll be doing

01:04:07on Monday.

01:04:07It should drop on Monday

01:04:08to preview Game 5,

01:04:09what the Knicks need to do

01:04:10to win Game 5.

01:04:12My guy David Shepard

01:04:13from SiriusXM NBA Radio

01:04:14will be joining me

01:04:15to talk a little bit

01:04:16about that.

01:04:17Brian and I back

01:04:18for Game 5

01:04:18on Tuesday night

01:04:20and then obviously

01:04:20Game 6 Thursday night

01:04:23and we'll see

01:04:24where the series is

01:04:25at that point

01:04:25or where it's going

01:04:26from there.

01:04:27Hopefully,

01:04:27I'm not saying

01:04:27a Game 7,

01:04:28but you never know.

01:04:29You never know.

01:04:30We will see.

01:04:30You'll want a Game 7

01:04:31if they lose Game 5.

01:04:32Knicks don't want

01:04:32any part of a Game 7.

01:04:34Game 5 is another

01:04:35you better spot,

01:04:36you know,

01:04:37just like today.

01:04:38I think the Knicks

01:04:39got to keep the same energy

01:04:40in a good way.

01:04:41They got to do that.

01:04:41So,

01:04:42that's going to do it

01:04:43for this post-game edition

01:04:44live watch party

01:04:45for Game 4 of Knicks Hawks.

01:04:47It was a fun one.

01:04:48Knicks with a win

01:04:48114-98.

01:04:50Special thanks

01:04:50to our technical director

01:04:51Abdiel Bermudez

01:04:52did a fantastic job

01:04:53holding out everything.

01:04:55He's Brian Fonseca.

01:04:56I'm Dexter Henry.

01:04:57We'll catch you next time

01:04:58in another edition

01:04:59of New York Got Game.

01:05:01Jose,

01:05:02Jose,

01:05:03Jose.

01:05:05And thanks for watching

01:05:07New York Got Game.

01:05:09Boop shakalaka.

01:05:15Edington News,

01:05:17We'll see you next time.

01:05:18We'll be here.

Knicks execute in Game 4 win to tie series 2-2 | NY Got Game Postgame

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