Knicks head coach Mike Brown reflected on New York’s 112-100 victory over the Lakers at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
“Good win by our guys. In the first half, we didn’t play like we should have defensively,” Brown said, citing early lapses and lack of physicality as issues.
He highlighted the team’s improvement on 50-50 balls: “There were five 50-50 balls in the second quarter and we got one of them… in the second half, there were seven 50-50 balls and we got all seven of them.”
Brown credited his players’ attention to detail: “Our low man was fantastic. Jalen ended up picking up a charge because he was in the right spot on Luka, but we took care of the paint a lot better cuz our activity and us doing our work early, getting in shifts to help out around the basket.”
Josh Hart earned praise for his defensive impact: “Josh was our defensive player of the game. You’re not stopping a guy like Luka, but he did a fantastic job navigating the pick and rolls in the second half against him.”
Brown also noted the team’s offensive balance: “30 assists, 10 turnovers. Fantastic night by our guys offensively. Shots didn’t always go in when we wanted them to… but we did enough to get a W.”
Landry Shamet’s performance drew specific attention: “Landry’s been impactful for us the entire season. Obviously he was really good tonight, shooting the ball, 6 for 10 from three, and very big for us defensively.”
On Karl-Anthony Towns’ growth as a passer, Brown explained, “KAT did a nice job tonight… the spacing offensively has been pretty good. That’s part of the reason Jalen had 13 assists. Part of the reason KAT had four assists because they’re sending the second guy and the spacing’s right, the pass is easy.”
Brown emphasized the team’s maturity and ability to make in-game adjustments: “This is a mature group. They’re competitive, and we just tell them what we see a lot of times and they go out and correct it… it’s about being locked in and doing the little things detail-wise better.”
He also praised the scoring consistency from OG Anunoby and Josh Hart: “OG’s the ball’s hitting his hands and if the defender closes out short, he lets it fly… Josh worked extremely hard on his shot too. They’re both getting out in transition, getting easy baskets, getting offensive rebounds, and cutting to score.”
Brown concluded on Shamet’s long-term impact: “When I watched tape before I got the job, I was a fan of his. I just saw things he did out on the floor last year that I was like, ‘Wow, this guy can be really good on both ends of the floor.’”
The Knicks improved to 31-18 with their sixth straight win, while the Lakers fell to 29-19 after a third-quarter collapse led by a 38-26 Knicks advantage.
