These are the Knicks, so obviously they lost a thousand games only so they could then win another thousand straight.
Best of all (for us fans)? It’s the second leg of a home-road back-to-back, so we get to enjoy New York Basketball once again today!
Here’s what was said after the third consecutive dub.
**_On what needed to improve after the last meeting with the Kings:_**
“Everything. They punched us in the mouth, and we didn’t respond well.”
**_On sticking with a KAT-Out closing lineup late:_**
“I know at the end of the game, we had a group out on the floor that’s playing well, and it’s a tight ball game so I just rode that group to the end of the game, which I’ve done before. We had Deuce out there, who’s not a starter, and Mitch out there, who’s not a starter. So again, we need to get the win, and the biggest thing was Mikal was at 37 minutes, but other than Mikal, everybody was at decent minutes especially knowing we’ve got a game tomorrow.”
**_On riding an alternative lineup for the final minutes vs. Sacramento:_**
“During the flow of the game, you find a group of players that you feel are playing well together. And you roll with it as long as you can.”
**_On Mitchell Robinson’s defensive impact:_**
“He brought a level of energy to us tonight, especially on defense. That got us over the hump.”
**_On self-inflicted turnovers on Tuesday:_**
“I thought the turnovers were self-inflicted. That’s not taking anything away from Sacramento. I thought we didn’t do a great job of playing off of two feet. Whenever you play off of one foot, you’re gonna get yourself in trouble. If you leave your feet with no place to go, you think somebody is open, there’s a good chance that the defense is gonna rotate and take that away and now you’re in trouble. We just have to do a better job of playing off of two feet.”
**_On grinding out the win defensively:_**
“It was an ugly game, but our defense stayed solid throughout.”
**_On winning an ugly game against the Kings:_**
“It was an ugly game. It wasn’t pretty, but we were able to grind it out and find a way to win, and I think that’s very important for us.”
**_On focus and attention to detail leading NYK to a win vs. Sacramento:_**
“Our attention to detail, our focus, those are big components for us. We have the ability to be a really good team if we do those things. The little things have to be important.”
**_On being removed from the closing lineup once again:_**
“\[Brown\] saw what he saw. We got a win. That’s the most important thing. That’s all I care about. That’s all this team cares about is the win.”
**_On beating Sacramento after the previous loss:_**
“It’s good to win any game. We beat a team that had our number the last game and against whom we showed one of our worst versions of ourselves. It was good to come out here and find a better version of ourselves and find ourselves winning.”
**_On embracing the lower-minutes plan:_**
“It was rough at first. I want to play every game. This plan we have in place for me. I just kind of embrace it and roll with it. I put my pride and ego to the side and just stick with the plan and it’s working out. Why fix something that’s not broken?”
**_On the Knicks’ turnaround:_**
“It’s all about coming out with the right mindset. And being ready to go.
“It feels great. We’re really making a turn and we’re really getting our s–t together.”