Landry Shamet reflected on crowd impact and team communication after the New York Knicks opened the NBA Finals with a 105-95 win over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 on Wednesday in San Antonio.
Asked about the reaction to his corner three, Shamet said, “Knicks fans have shown, you know, throughout the regular season and obviously in the playoffs that they are willing to travel and definitely shows up, makes a difference. We notice it.” He added, “It’s a good feeling knowing we got, you know, some of ours in the building and you know, we felt them from the beginning and they were present throughout the game. So, definitely makes a difference.”
Shamet also explained how communication functions inside the roster, saying, “I think we all have a voice and you know, we all use it in the right way. Open communication with one another. Keep each other in check.” He continued, “We got a little too emotional in the first half, got a little caught up in obviously game one of the Finals and everything going on. So we were talking to each other and trying to settle each other in, focus on the things we need to focus on and we did a good job of that.”
On his evolving role during the postseason rotation, Shamet stated, “I don’t I mean, you know, my job is my job and it remains the same. You know be ready for whatever situation or moment you’re asked to step into and that’s the only thing I think about not thinking about how it started anything in the past.” He added, “I’m thinking about game two against San Antonio. You know we’ll do the whole reflection and look back thing when it’s all said and done.”
Addressing adjustments during the game, he pointed to discipline issues, saying, “Gave up way too many points in transition. We got to set the tone better early in the game.” He added, “We were fouling way too much early which you know you could say is due to emotions running high game one of the Finals obviously. We’ll look at the film and kind of chop some stuff up and come back but those are two things I could think of off top of my head. We got to quit fouling and get back in transition.”
Shamet also responded to the idea that San Antonio faded late, saying, “I mean, no, I don’t know if I would call it that. I think it’s competition and you know, we’ve put ourselves in situations where we’ve got to fight back from a deficit and we did that and we chipped away.” He added, “We started focusing on ourselves and doing the right things. And slowly but surely that led to us cutting the deficit and ultimately getting the win.”
The Knicks closed the game on an 11-0 run, powered by 30 points from Jalen Brunson and strong interior production from Karl-Anthony Towns, while taking a 1-0 series lead in the Finals.
Game 2 remains set for Friday in San Antonio, with the Spurs looking to respond after losing home court in the opener.
