The Knicks enjoyed a day off on Tuesday as they gear up to face the Blazers on the road, keeping their West Coast trip going with this and one more game after it—against the Warriors—before they can board a plane back home.
New York keeps waiting for Brunson to heal so Cap’n Crunch can take the reins of the squad on their way to winning a championship 52 years since they last did.
Here’s the latest from Coach Thibs and some Knicks as they land at PDX.
Tom Thibodeau
On the team-wide effort on Monday leading to a win in Jalen Brunson’s absence:
“Just overall defensive activity. I think being tied together, and they’re a hard team to guard, you got to fly around. You got to make a second, third effort. And when you do that, for us, that’s got to be our way.
“We’re not replacing Jalen individually. We can’t but we can do it as a collective. If we play like that, we have a chance.”
On OG Anunoby’s impact against the Kings:
“He had great energy. A lot of spirited plays. He was everywhere.”
Karl-Anthony Towns
On the Knicks’ win over the Kings:
“It’s good when you could go out there and show better—a great version of y’all selves.
“I thought we did a great job of moving the ball, high assist game, playing as a team. The defense stayed for the last two games. Just continue to put the building blocks together.”
On the importance of a strong start against the Kings:
“It just sets the table. We come out focused, ready, and we get some good defensive stops, good defensive possessions, even if they hit some tough shots, it gives you defensive confidence. It gives you momentum.
“So like I said, we did a great job starting out the day playing defense at a high level. The defense translates to our offense, and then our offense tonight we hit a high clip of shots. It helped a lot.
“Shoutout to OG, Deuce, Mikal, everybody who contributed, especially on the defensive end.”
On the team’s need for defensive improvements:
“We’ve been known for our offense. We’ve been known to have the firepower offensively. But defensively—that’s something that we have to get together, and we’ve done a great job of heading in the right direction these last three games.
“It’s about consistency. We’ve got to do it every night.”
On OG Anunoby’s recent form:
“I think he’s playing really well right now, especially in this part of the season. I’m super happy to see all the work that he puts in translating to success he’s finding right now on the court.
“Man, he’s special. I’ve been talking about him all year. He’s one of the most special two-way players in the NBA that the world has to offer in the game of basketball.
“As a brother I’m just happy to see the work that he puts in being recognized by the world and it’s translating into success for him and the team.”
Josh Hart
On the Knicks’ faster pace without Brunson:
“We turned defense into offense and played fast. We got extremely skilled guys, and I think playing fast, especially with (Brunson) out, fits us very well. That’s something that we’re trying to do.”
On breaking out of his shooting slump against the Kings:
“I felt good. I needed a game like that. Came to shootaround an hour to an hour and a half early, getting shots up. It just felt good to have a game like that. It helps with the confidence. Then I just got to keep building off of that.”
On OG Anunoby’s celebration after a big play:
“It looked good. He said he did some type of skip thing—I don’t know what it was.”
OG Anunoby
On his awful celebrations:
“Yeah, I don’t know. I was trying to do something. I was trying to do something instead of that thing that I do.
“I asked after, ‘Was that trash?’ Cam [Payne] said it was all right. It was all right. I’ve got to work on it.”
On his increased aggression with Brunson out:
“Yeah, definitely trying to be more aggressive. And even when he comes back, still be more aggressive. Just do what I can do.”