Mike Brown, Knicks
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Head coach Mike Brown of the New York Knicks looks on in the second half /C during their game at Spectrum Center on March 26, 2026 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The New York Knicks had their seven-game winning streak snapped by the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday night, and head coach Mike Brown wasn’t happy. After the 114-103 loss, Brown blasted his team for getting outrebounded 43-24 and for lacking physicality against a younger, more athletic opponent.
“They just kicked our behinds on the glass,” Brown fumed after the loss.
“We need more production on the glass than what we got from a handful of guys. If you’re going to go on the road and let a team outrebound you 43-24, it’s not even close because we didn’t put bodies on bodies. We didn’t hit first.”
The Knicks got only three rebounds from starting center Karl-Anthony Towns, while reserve big man Mitchell Robinson added nine boards off the bench. Even Josh Hart, one of the NBA’s top wing rebounders, finished with seven rebounds, which is below his season average of 7.6 through the first 58 games.
New York Basketball
Mike Brown “Kicked our behind on glass…Go on road & let em outrebound you 43-24…
“Last 2 possessions we contested…stopped & watched, ball bounced right back to shooter” … “Also when you contest––
(Gets up to demo)
(Feed cuts out)
(Brown holds leg) “Almost pulled hammy”
Knicks Lack Intensity
Brown was also critical of his team’s perimeter defense.
“Our pick-and-roll defense wasn’t good,” he said.
“And part of the reason why it wasn’t good is because they set great physical screens. And we didn’t do a good job protecting one another in the pick-and-roll.”
Even offensively, the Knicks struggled to keep pace with the Hornets. While Jalen Brunson finished with 26 points and 13 assists, no other Knicks player had any sustained offensive rhythm, including All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns, who took only eight shots in the game and sat out most of the fourth quarter.
Hart felt the Knicks struggled to keep pace with the uptempo Hornets.
“I think their pace. They played like they were shot out of a cannon,” Hart said of his team’s struggles against the Hornets.
“I felt like we were a step slower in a lot of those actions. They got Melo, who pushed the pace a lot, they have multiple ball-handlers in that unit, so they don’t just rely on him.”
New York Basketball
“They played like they were shot out of a cannon…pushing that pace…Melo…Kon…B Miller…they’re going…we’re playing a step slow”
–– Josh Hart in Charlotte after Knicks lose 114-103
Knicks Fall Behind Celtics
“They played very well. They were physical,” Hart added.
“I just felt like we were a step slow. When another team is playing at that pace and with that physicality, it’s not going to be good day.”
With Thursday’s loss, the Knicks (48-26) fell a game behind the Boston Celtics (48-24) in a heated battle for the second seed, just a day after the C’s registered a massive win against reigning NBA champions the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Knicks would essentially have to go at least 6-2 in their final eight games, while hoping the Celtics go 4-4 or 5-3, to stay in contention for the second seed.
Mike Brown’s team will next face the Thunder on the road on Sunday night. Another loss would likely mean they won’t have home-court advantage in a potential Eastern Conference semifinals rematch against the Celtics.