New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown summed up the Game 1 victory with a measured tone after the 105-95 comeback over the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals.
“It’s a good win by our guys. We felt we didn’t play well. I’m sure San Antonio felt that they didn’t play well, too. And obviously it’s good to learn from, you know, especially when you didn’t feel like you played well, it’s good to learn from a win.”
Brown pointed to the Spurs’ early transition dominance as the key first-half issue. “In the first half they kicked our behind in transition. They got out the way we calculated. They had 24 fast break points in the first half. In the second half, they had nine fast break points. So, we did a better job of getting back.”
He stressed defensive discipline against San Antonio’s pace and Victor Wembanyama’s impact. “We got to get back. We got to load. You can’t buddy run because they have quick athletic players and then you got Wembanyama coming and he could shoot the three or get to the rim.”
Brown credited the Knicks’ second-half execution changes. “We were more efficient ourselves in transition in the second half and we got to keep trying to push the pace because these guys are too good to go against their set defense all the time.”
The head coach also highlighted rebounding and second-chance scoring as a separator. “Our ability to crash and not only crash, but more importantly turn the offensive rebounds into second chance points was huge. You know, getting 23 second chance points compared to their 14 was big.”
Turnovers were another turning point after halftime adjustments. “Did a nice job taking care of the basketball in the second half. First half, we had eight turnovers. Second half, obviously, one turnover.”
Brown noted perimeter adjustments against Julian Champagnie. “You know, we got to keep getting to Champagnie. Champagnie had five threes in the first half and we did a better job of closing out to him and trying to get him off the three-point line.”
He praised bench and two-way contributions across the roster. “Landry Shamet was huge off the bench with his 13 points. Not only that, defensively he was huge for us. You know, OG got it going in the second half. OG was huge for us in the second half.”
Josh Hart’s impact was also emphasized despite limited scoring. “Josh Hart’s line being one for five from the field and the guy had 15 rebounds and four steals and he made some unbelievable defensive plays and he helped us tremendously in transition.”
Brown reserved his strongest praise for Jalen Brunson’s late-game control. “He was the MVP in the second half. He was huge for us. He did what MVP candidates are supposed to do. He carried us home.”
On Brunson’s late-game sequence and injury concern, Brown said, “Jalen’s tough as nails and he to me he didn’t seem like he had any effect afterwards. He didn’t look like it was bothering down the stretch and so I think he’s okay.”
He also explained spacing and decision-making against Wembanyama’s rim protection. “When you’re playing against San Antonio and you have a defensive anchor like Wembanyama back there, your spacing has to be right.”
Brown added on physical defense and containment. “There was a level of physicality… we got to try to keep them out the paint. But we got to do it without sending them to the free throw line.”
He credited team resilience after another double-digit deficit. “These guys are resilient, man. They get better as the game goes along.”
Brown also referenced sideline discipline and internal adjustments. “Rick Brunson was great. He told me to shut the hell up… and it helped us put our energy elsewhere especially in the second half.”
The Knicks now lead the series 1-0 heading into Game 2 in San Antonio.
