Knicks Notes: Towns, Alvarado, Brunson, Nova Trio
Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns was a difference-maker in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, according to Zach Kram of ESPN and Fred Katz of The Athletic, coming up big on both ends of the court.
While the Spurs would prefer to use Victor Wembanyama as the primary defender on Josh Hart, allowing him to roam around the paint and away from the perimeter, Towns proved to be a difficult assignment for smaller San Antonio defenders, pushing his way to the basket when he had the size advantage, notes Katz.
On the other end of the floor, there was an expectation that OG Anunoby would get the first look as Wembanyama’s primary defender, but that assignment went to Towns instead. According to NBA.com’s matchup data, Towns guarded the Spurs star for nearly 80% of the time when both players were on the floor together. Against the Knicks center, Wembanyama scored just nine points on 2-of-11 shooting and committed five turnovers.
On the heels of his standout performance, Towns told Shaquille O’Neal and the Inside the NBA crew that he believes his ability to stay level-headed and focused during Game 1 was due to the presence of his late mother, Jacqueline Cruz, who passed away in 2020 due to complications from COVID-19.
“I don’t want to sound sugarcoating or anything like that,” Towns said. “I don’t know what it was, but I just felt a calm and a peace that had to be come from the woman above. I felt really confident about today. I felt good. I felt like a kid. It was just fun out here. … In a way, I felt like I was seeing her in the stands. It was fun. It was really fun. It was really comforting because Game 1 of the NBA Finals, you’re told all the pressure there’s going to be.”
We have more on the Knicks:
- After scoring 10 total points in four games against Cleveland in the Eastern Conference finals, Knicks guard Jose Alvarado scored seven points in 11 minutes on Wednesday. His 11 minutes of action were the most he had played since April 28 and his four rebounds represented a personal playoff high. Alvarado first entered the game after Jalen Brunson appeared to injure his knee and admitted his first thought was that Brunson “better come back,” as Zach Braziller of The New York Post relays. “My second thought is, this is what I do. I wasn’t scared of the moment,” Alvarado said. “This is something I live for, and I just want to take advantage of it and do what the team needs.”
- Although Harrison Barnes fell into his knee in the first quarter and Luke Kornet stepped on his ankle in the second quarter, Brunson showed no ill effects of those injuries in the second half or ahead of practice on Thursday, writes Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News (subscription required)
- In an entertaining story for The Athletic, James L. Edwards III takes an in-depth look at the history shared by the Knicks’ three former Villanova stars – Brunson, Hart, and Mikal Bridges – and the bond they’ve developed over their many years as teammates. “We genuinely like playing together,” Brunson said of the ‘Nova Knicks’ last month. “We’ve created a chemistry that has been great. I love playing with these guys. They mean a lot to me. It’s been a lot of fun.”
Knicks’ James Dolan Talks Brown, Towns, Bridges, Rose
Knicks owner James Dolan doesn’t speak to reporters often, so he’ll generate headlines by simply giving an interview about his NBA team, no matter what he says. But his remarks about the Knicks in January were hardly by the numbers. Publicly discussing the team with a media member for the first time in nearly three years, Dolan said the Knicks should win this year’s title and that making the NBA Finals was something “we’ve absolutely got to do.”
Sitting down for another rare interview ahead of the Finals, Dolan explained to Steve Serby of The New York Post why he essentially gave the club a Finals-or-bust mandate over four months ago.
“That’s why I don’t do a lot of interviews — I’m usually very frank,” the Knicks’ owner said with a smile. “I did not go into the interview thinking, ‘Oh I’m gonna say this.’ But it was on my mind, and I knew that the rest of the organization knew it too — we all knew it.
“We knew it from the moment that we said goodbye to (Tom Thibodeau) and we hired Mike (Brown), that we were gonna be in a hot spot because we just made the conference finals. We didn’t win, but you don’t make a change unless you’re expecting to do better. We didn’t change ’cause we wanted it to be worse! To me, it was a little obvious, so I just said it because it was obvious.”
While the Knicks didn’t make any major roster changes last summer ahead of the 2025/26 season, they did make a coaching change, as Dolan notes, controversially firing Thibodeau on the heels of the club’s deepest playoff run in a quarter-century.
New York was linked to several other coaching candidates before hiring Brown, which made it seem as if he wasn’t the team’s first – or second – choice. However, Dolan told Serby that president of basketball operations Leon Rose was convinced Brown was the right man for the job.
“We knew we had a good coach in Thibs. We weren’t just going for a change, right? There was something we wanted, and we laid it out, really on paper, what we were looking for in a coach,” Dolan said. “I would say the number one quality was collaborative, that was a big piece … somebody who strategically could avail himself of all the minds around him and put it together, particularly at game time, between halves, that was a big thing. And we were looking for flexibility.
“So we laid out all these sort of characteristics that we were looking for, and then I set Leon loose. And he interviewed a lot of different guys, and he came back with Mike, and I’m like, ‘OK.’ Leon did all the work. I just blessed it.”
Here are a few more highlights from Dolan’s interview with Serby:
On the Knicks’ decision to trade for Karl-Anthony Towns ahead of the 2024/25 season:
“First off, we had Isaiah (Hartenstein) before KAT, and we lost Isaiah because the rules did not allow us to hang onto him. By the CBA, etc., we were only allowed to offer him X amount of money. Other teams were allowed to offer him more. Probably should try and correct that in the next CBA with KAT. Our first preference would have been to keep going with Isaiah.
“So once we lost Isaiah, we knew we needed a big man, we needed a center, a focal point there. I knew KAT from before, I actually know him for about four or five years. I knew that he liked New York, he wanted to come. I was thrilled because to have an option like KAT was heaven-sent.”
On how difficult it was to give up five first-round picks in the trade for Mikal Bridges:
“It took a little thought (smile). Look, that’s the NBA. The idea was that Mikal was a building block for the team we wanted, which is the team we have on the floor now. We didn’t think we’d be in a lottery — we don’t expect to be in a lottery for quite some time. So, (the picks) weren’t quite as valuable … and Mikal is another player who I think we’re starting to understand just how impactful he could be.”
On hiring Rose to run the front office in 2020:
“I obviously have been doing this for a while before Leon showed up, and it was much more about just getting convinced that no matter if you get the most brilliant strategist in the world, you have to have talent in order to win. And so I thought about the guy who would be best in bringing talent to New York, and Leon’s name was at the very top of the list.
“The way he deals with the whole organization is different. He almost has an agent’s mentality about it. He’s very collaborative. He’s very big on creating a feeling of family inside of the team. It starts with him and (William Wesley) who do that. When he took the job, I think he thought long and hard about how he wanted to do it. I think this is how he wanted to do it.”
Knicks Notes: Brunson, Robinson, Rose, Sacrifice
Jalen Brunson accomplished something no other Knick has since the turn of the millennium, leading New York to the NBA Finals for a shot at bringing home the team’s first championship since 1973. For the people who have watched him the most, this success is only natural, given the makeup of who he is as a player.
“He has an iron will. He’s not tall, he’s not fast, he’s not overly athletic. But he’s one of the mentally strongest players I’ve ever been around,” said longtime Knicks and ESPN broadcaster Mike Breen in an interview with Steve Serby of the New York Post. “They talk about Michael Jordan, they talk about Kobe Bryant … in terms of mental toughness, I’d put him up there with anybody.”
Breen, who has worked alongside Knicks legend Walt Frazier for years, says that regardless of whether or not the Knicks beat the Spurs, Brunson has put himself in the conversation for the greatest Knick of all time, despite only being with the team for four seasons.
Brunson is also making a special kind of history, as his appearance in the NBA Finals will mark the first time that a father-son duo both played in the Finals for the same team, the NBA announced (via Twitter). Brunson’s father – and Knicks assistant coach – Rick Brunson played for New York in the team’s 1999 Finals matchup against, coincidentally, the Spurs. The elder Brunson played just 10 seconds in the series as a bench depth piece, while the younger Brunson’s responsibilities will be considerably greater.
We have more news and notes from the Knicks:
- According to head coach Mike Brown, Mitchell Robinson did some individual work during the Knicks’ practice on Sunday, per Stefan Bondy of the Post (Twitter link). Brown said he wasn’t sure exactly what Robinson is wearing to protect his pinky finger, which recently underwent surgery, nor could he provide an availability update on the big man for Game 1. The Knicks’ backup center figures to play a crucial role in the series, if healthy, as his size, defensive ability, and offensive rebounding could be a critical part of New York’s plan to deal with Victor Wembanyama.
- When Leon Rose took over the Knicks’ front office, the club was in the midst of what would end up being a 21-45 season, cut short by COVID. The first decision he made was to hire Tom Thibodeau to lead the team into what he hoped would be a resurgence of competitiveness. That was move one of 160 that brought the team from perpetual bottom-feeder to Eastern Conference champions, Mike Vaccaro writes for the Post. While there were a couple of missteps, such as the summer of Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier, Rose was able to quickly fix his own mistakes as easily as he moved on from those of his predecessors.
- If there’s one word that describes the makeup of this Knicks team, it’s sacrifice — so much so that the door of the team locker room has a “Standard of a Champion” contract signed by every player and coach, Jared Schwartz writes for the Post. “My willingness to sacrifice at the highest level for the team, on and off the floor will represent my dedication to our collective objective,” the first clause in the contract reads. The players have taken that philosophy to heart, whether it’s Karl-Anthony Towns sacrificing shots in order to help facilitate the team offense, Jordan Clarkson shifting from the run-and-gun style he played in Utah to hustling for offensive rebounds and intensifying his defensive intensity, or Robinson being willing to play a lesser role than he did a few years ago. “Being unselfish, I think that’s the biggest thing,” Josh Hart said. “And where we’re at right now, everyone is unselfish. We’re willing to sacrifice numbers and stats for the betterment of the team. And I think when we do that, we’re playing our best basketball.”
Knicks Notes: Brown, McBride, Towns, NBA Finals
Mike Brown has seen a lot of ups and downs in his NBA career, being named Coach of the Year twice and getting fired four times. After his most recent dismissal by Sacramento in the middle of last season, Brown wasn’t sure if he would ever get another opportunity, so he began traveling with his wife instead of worrying about his future, Steve Popper of Newsday writes in a subscriber-only story.
The Browns ventured to Australia for a UFC event, followed by Mexico and the Caribbean before heading to New York. They had no idea at the time, but that’s where Brown would eventually return to coaching and lead his team to the brink of an NBA title.
“I just wanted to have fun, and if an opportunity came up, great,” he said. “If it didn’t, you know, shoot, I felt lucky, blessed, fortunate. I had a good run, you know? And I felt that at some point, I’d get another opportunity, whether it was a head coach or an assistant coaching position. So I just kind of rolled with it. Didn’t think much about it. And, you know, obviously, this opportunity came up. From afar, I just felt that this team was ready. And I’m just thrilled to death that (owner) Mr. (James) Dolan gave me an opportunity, and (team president) Leon Rose gave me an opportunity, to be a head coach again, especially here in New York.”
Popper states that Brown’s attitude helped him deal with the awkwardness of taking over a successful team, including lineup changes that didn’t always work and a new system that wasn’t warmly received by everyone. Brown and his players appear to have made it through the rough spots, and the Knicks have peaked during the playoffs as they tore through three Eastern Conference opponents.
“I truly felt that this team was an NBA Finals team, “Brown said after his team completed a sweep of Cleveland on Monday. “I thought we had a true opportunity. Because some jobs you take, you’re like, ‘OK, we can get better. We have a chance to make the playoffs right now.’ But this one, I felt we legitimately had a chance if we could help them figure it out, and the players could stay together during the process, especially when we hit adversity. Because we hit adversity at different times during the season, not just us as a whole group, but even some guys individually, including myself. So, you know, I did have that belief from Day One. I didn’t know how it was going to turn out, but we’re here.”
There’s more from New York:
- Miles McBride admits there were “some tough, long nights” before he became a contributor on an NBA Finals team, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. A second-round pick in 2021, McBride endured losing and limited playing time early in his career before the Knicks traded two guards for OG Anunoby in December of 2023. That created an opportunity for McBride, but it came after he agreed to a three-year, $13MM extension that turned out to be a great bargain for the team. He’ll be eligible for another extension this summer and will likely get a new deal that better reflects his value to the organization.
- Karl-Anthony Towns‘ transformation in the playoffs has even impressed Draymond Green, who has a long-running rivalry with the Knicks center, relays Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. “I’ve never seen Karl-Anthony Towns defend and be as engaged as he is on the defensive end,” Green said on Inside the NBA. “What we’ve seen for years, and this year some, is him get these dumb fouls. He’s not even doing that anymore.”
- John Hollinger of The Athletic looks at how the Knicks’ playoff dominance might translate to an NBA Finals matchup with Oklahoma City or San Antonio.
Knicks Notes: Brown, Towns, Shamet, Anunoby, Winning Streak
The Knicks‘ decision to replace Tom Thibodeau as head coach was one of the most controversial moves of last summer, but Mike Brown has the organization on the verge of its first NBA Finals appearance since 1999. It wasn’t always a smooth transition, as Karl-Anthony Towns in particular struggled to adjust to the new system, but Towns offered a strong endorsement of Brown after Saturday’s Game 3 win at Cleveland, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv.
“With Mike, he had to learn us and adjust to us,” Towns said. “On the flip side, we had to do the same as well. Now, we are at a point where we are both working seamlessly. We understand each other’s language. He is getting the best from us and we are getting the best from him. I think that speaks to a season, especially a first season with a new coach and a new system and a new philosophy. It’s a testament to the players to do an amazing job coming together and showing that unity that made us special last year. But the coaching staff being receptive to the players and adjusting with us and finding the way to get the most out of us.”
Begley notes that while Thibodeau was notorious for giving heavy minutes to his starters, Brown has made it a priority to develop a reliable second unit. Landry Shamet, Jordan Clarkson and Jose Alvarado have joined Miles McBride and Mitchell Robinson as dependable contributors off the bench during the team’s playoff run.
“Everybody wants to see each other do well genuinely,” Shamet said. “I mean that. If you guys write that in your report, it’s not some locker room banter or BS. It’s like spiritual with this group. You know, we’ve got a lot of guys who are more than capable of being in certain situations, and we cheer each other on. Next man up. It’s a beautiful thing, and it’s what we have, and this locker room. So it’s special.”
There’s more on the Knicks:
- OG Anunoby said it was “cool” to receive Second-Team All-Defensive recognition, but his teammates and coaches see it as more of a slight than an honor, Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News writes in a subscriber-only piece. “The versatility he brings to this team — we’re a top-five defensive team. Top-five defensive team, OK?” Brown said. “… The versatility that that guy brings to this team is off the charts, and I hope the voters get it right the next time around. I’m happy he’s Second Team. He deserves something, but it was wrong.”
- Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson has been impressed by the Knicks’ ability to avoid any kind of “letdown” in the playoffs, relays Zach Braziller of The New York Post. The team has won 10 straight games, many in convincing fashion, and is outscoring opponents by an average of 22.5 PPG during that stretch.
- While New Yorkers are ecstatic about the prospect of reaching the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years, the team remains focused on the need to get one more win, per Steve Popper of Newsday (subscription required). Players plan to approach Monday’s Game 4 at Cleveland the same as any other playoff contest. “We don’t wanna get ahead of ourselves, because as soon as we start getting ahead of ourselves, that’s when disaster always occurs, it seems,” Brown said. “And so for us, starting with me, making sure everybody in the organization on down understands it’s about the next game. And really, it’s about the next possession. And I try to block out everything else as best I can and not think about ‘what ifs,’ because I know for me, it would distract me 100% at this time of the year.”
NBA Announces 2025/26 All-NBA Teams
The league has officially announced its three All-NBA teams, recognizing the top performers for the 2025/26 season (all Twitter links).
A total of 100 media members voted on the All-NBA teams, with First Team votes counting for five points, Second Team votes counting for three points, and Third Team votes counting for one point.
This year’s All-NBA teams are as follows (each player’s point total is noted in parentheses):
First Team
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder (500 points)- Nikola Jokic, Nuggets (500)
- Victor Wembanyama, Spurs (498)
- Luka Doncic, Lakers (482)
- Cade Cunningham, Pistons (414)
Second Team
- Jaylen Brown, Celtics (384)
- Kawhi Leonard, Clippers (277)
- Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers (276)
- Kevin Durant, Rockets (241)
- Jalen Brunson, Knicks (197)
Third Team
- Tyrese Maxey, Sixers (168)
- Jamal Murray, Nuggets (149)
- Jalen Johnson, Hawks (125)
- Jalen Duren, Pistons (121)
- Chet Holmgren, Thunder (87)
Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic, this season’s Most Valuable Player and runner-up, respectively, were the only unanimous first-teamers, with Wembanyama coming a single vote away — he had one Second Team vote to go along with 99 First Team votes.
Doncic and Cunningham each technically fell short of meeting the 65-game minimum required to be eligible for All-NBA and other major awards, but they appealed that ruling and were deemed award-eligible by the league. Doncic would have met the criteria if he hadn’t missed time due to the birth of a child, while Cunningham fell short after suffering a collapsed lung, so both players were granted “extraordinary circumstances” exceptions.
Notably, Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, who played 61 games, also applied for an extraordinary circumstances exception. However, his request was denied, so his name didn’t show up on award ballots even though he likely would’ve been voted onto an All-NBA team if voters could’ve selected him. Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and LeBron James – who had made 21 consecutive All-NBA teams – were among the other superstars who didn’t meet the 65-game criteria.
Outside of the 15 players who made All-NBA teams, another dozen players showed up on at least one ballot, starting with Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, who had 26 voting points (Twitter link).
Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (14 points), Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (9), Cavaliers guard James Harden (6), Rockets center Alperen Sengun (6), Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (5), Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5), Heat big man Bam Adebayo (4), and Celtics guard Derrick White (3) all earned multiple votes, while Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg, Raptors forward Brandon Ingram, and Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley earned one Third Team vote apiece.
As usual, there are also financial implications worth noting related to the All-NBA teams. First and foremost, Duren will now be eligible to sign a contract with the Pistons that starts at up to 30% of the 2026/27 salary cap as a restricted free agent this summer. That means he could earn up to a projected $287.1MM over five years.
If he hadn’t made All-NBA, Duren’s maximum five-year contract with Detroit would’ve been worth a projected $239.3MM. Either way, the most a rival team can offer him is four years and $177.4MM.
Maxey and Cunningham are on their way to meeting the super-max (ie. Designated Veteran) criteria but would need to earn All-NBA honors again in 2027 to become eligible for maximum-salary extensions worth up to 35% of the cap instead of 30%.
Wembanyama is in a similar boat — despite making the All-NBA First Team and being named Defensive Player of the Year, he would need to achieve one of those feats again in 2027 in order to increase the maximum value of his next contract from 25% to the cap to 30% via the Rose rule. Wembanyama will be eligible to sign a rookie scale extension this offseason and is a lock to do so.
Paolo Banchero and Jalen Williams had Rose rule language in their maximum-salary rookie scale extensions, which were signed last offseason and will go into effect this July. They could’ve increased their respective starting salaries beyond 25% of the cap if they’d made an All-NBA team, but neither player did.
Interestingly, the maximum-salary rookie scale extension that the Thunder negotiated with Holmgren in 2025 did not include a Rose rule escalator, so the projected value of the big man’s contract (five years, $239.3MM) remains unchanged even though he earned a spot on the Third Team. It’ll go into effect this year and will be identical to Williams’ deal.
Finally, Edwards would have become eligible to sign a super-max extension with the Timberwolves during the 2027 offseason if he had been named to an All-NBA team this season. Because he didn’t qualify, he’ll need to make All-NBA next season in order to meet the performance criteria for a Designated Veteran extension.
Knicks Notes: Bridges, Shamet, Anunoby, Towns
The Knicks‘ decision to give up five first-round picks in a trade for Mikal Bridges has been relitigated frequently over the past couple years, but it’s time to “let that argument die,” according to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic, who contends that the veteran forward is showing in this postseason why the team was right to pay the price it took to acquire him.
After scoring 22 points on 11-of-15 shooting on Saturday, Bridges has now compiled 59 points with a ridiculous .711/.500/1.000 shooting line through three games vs. Cleveland while serving as the primary defender on James Harden. The 29-year-old hasn’t put up the scoring numbers in New York that he did in Brooklyn, but that’s because the Knicks haven’t asked him to be that kind of go-to-offensive option, Edwards says, pointing out that Bridges has excelled in the role the team wants him to play.
“The expectations don’t matter,” Knicks forward Josh Hart said in reference to Bridges. “That’s for y’all to talk about. There’s nothing he can do about it. He didn’t call (Knicks president) Leon (Rose) and say, ‘Yo, this is the trade package!’ He got put into this situation, and he hit the ground running. We wouldn’t be in this situation without him. Look, how many games has he won for us because he got a stop down the stretch? He’s won games in every single way for us. That’s why we wanted him. That’s why he’s here.”
We have more on the Knicks:
- After being out of the rotation early in the postseason, veteran wing Landry Shamet continues to solidify his spot among Mike Brown‘s regulars. On Saturday, Shamet logged a playoff-high 28 minutes and scored 14 points, knocking down a trio of fourth quarter three-pointers that helped seal the victory, writes Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. “Landry was huge,” Brown said after the victory. “And then on the other end of the floor, he’s gotta match up with a guy like Donovan Mitchell, who is a tough cover for anybody. You’re not gonna stop him, but you gotta work your tail off. Landry’s trying to work.”
- OG Anunoby was up and down in his first two games back from the hamstring injury that sidelined him in the second round, but he looked back to his usual self in Game 3, according to Zach Braziller of The New York Post. Anunoby scored 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting to go along with seven rebounds and four assists. “Each day I started feeling better and better. We have a great medical staff,” Anunoby said. “Getting stronger each day. Great team, great coaches. It’s been very collaborative.”
- While the Cavaliers defended against it in the first two games of the series, the Knicks turned back to Karl-Anthony Towns as their offensive facilitator in Game 3 and he responded by handing out more assists (seven) than he totaled in Games 1 and 2 (six), Braziller notes in another Post story. “KAT, he was our hub offensively: seven assists, zero turnovers,” Brown said. “He was really good for us offensively and defensively with three steals.”
Knicks Notes: Robinson, Towns, Bridges, Pre-Draft Workout
Knicks center Mitchell Robinson announced Saturday that he’ll be staying away from social media due to concerns about his mental health, writes Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. Robinson informed his followers on Snapchat a few hours before the start of Game 3.
“I’m deleting all apps for a little while until I can get back to myself,” he wrote. “I had a very upsetting experience a few days ago. I’m not gonna go into detail about it, just gonna focus on the playoffs and myself. I know some of you have called and texted and it popped up green. That’s because I got a new [phone] number. My mental health is not the best right now but I am fighting to get back on track while playing on the biggest stage in the world in the Eastern Conference finals.”
Schwartz states that Robinson went public regarding his mental health issues after being ejected from Game 6 of the first-round series against Atlanta for fighting with Dyson Daniels. Robinson posted on Facebook that he was “just lost in the world at the moment,” and he sent out another Facebook message on Thursday saying he would be deleting all his social media accounts.
“Last post before I delete this app,” Robinson wrote. “I finally have changed my number for many reason [sic]…as I fight through and keep fighting in this playoffs run my focus have to go to another level. This is the start of a new chapter in my life. Love and will miss y’all…. Mitch out.”
There’s more on the Knicks:
- LeBron James has been impressed by New York’s recent run of playoff dominance, Schwartz adds in another story. Speaking on his Mind the Game podcast (Twitter link), the Lakers star raved about the Knicks’ newfound versatility on offense. “The defense can’t just key on a couple of actions anymore. I thought over the last couple of years with New York, you kind of got a good rhythm of how they were gonna play. The ball was gonna end up in a certain way every single time,” James said, referring to heavy reliance on Jalen Brunson isolations and pick-and rolls. James explained that running the offense through Karl-Anthony Towns has opened up opportunities for everyone on the court.
- Cleveland has adjusted to limit the effectiveness of Towns’ passing, but the Knicks have found other ways to win and that versatility could lead to a championship, Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News suggests in a subscriber-only story. Brunson carried the scoring load with 38 points in Game 1, and Josh Hart launched a three-point barrage in Game 2. “That’s the blessing of our group,” Towns said after Saturday’s shootaround. “We have multiple ways and systems that we can utilize to help us get the win. I’ve been happy because we’ve continued to win.”
- Prior to Game 3, coach Mike Brown talked to reporters about Mikal Bridges‘ value, per Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link). “It starts with (owner) Mr. (James) Dolan because he’s willing to spend money,” Brown said. “… From there you talk about (team president) Leon Rose and his group, they identified Mikal as a two-way player and they went and got him.”
- Miami’s Tre Donaldson is the latest draft prospect to work out for the Knicks, Begley adds (Twitter link). The senior guard averaged 16.4 points and 5.7 assists per game for the Hurricanes this season.
Knicks Notes: Towns, Anunoby, Shamet, Robinson, Dolan
The Knicks‘ usage of Karl-Anthony Towns as a point center in the seven games leading up to Tuesday’s game vs. Cleveland resulted in a 130.5 offensive rating, but the plan hit a snag in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, writes Zach Braziller of The New York Post. The Cavaliers‘ talented frontcourt duo of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen did a better job of neutralizing Towns, who scored just 13 points on 14 shots and had five assists, his lowest single-game total since head coach Mike Brown tweaked the Knicks’ offensive game plan.
“We do feel like we have the personnel to bother him. We’ve got multiple guys who can put pressure on him,” Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We’ve gotta be really good with our off-ball defense. They’ve definitely shifted schematically like everybody knows. It’s been … it’s high level so it’s going to be a big part of the series.”
Ultimately though, slowing down Towns wasn’t enough for the Cavaliers to pull off the Game 1 upset and take the lead in the series, as Jalen Brunson led a historic fourth-quarter comeback that resulted in an overtime win. According to the NBA (Twitter link), New York’s 22-point comeback in the fourth quarter was the largest in a conference final game since 1997 and the second-largest in any playoff game during that same span. That outcome left Towns satisfied after the game despite his modest showing.
“I think the Knicks found a way to win tonight, and that’s all that matters,” he said, per Braziller. “It’s not about the individual performances, it’s about this team finding a way to put up a win on the board. I think that’s what’s special.”
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- Knicks forward OG Anunoby acknowledged he had some rust to shake off in his first game back following a hamstring injury, but he finished the game strong, as Howie Kussoy writes for The New York Post. After recording four points and two rebounds in his first 29 minutes of action during regulation, Anunoby helped the Knicks seal the victory with nine points and three boards in overtime. “I felt good,” Anunoby said. “Just continue to play hard, shoot shots and be aggressive. … I don’t think it was hesitancy [early]. Just as the game went on I felt more and more like myself.”
- Even with Anunoby back, Landry Shamet ended up playing a key role for the Knicks, logging 14 of his 17 minutes in the fourth quarter and overtime and making a trio of crucial three-pointers, including one that tied the game during the final minute of regulation, writes Braziller of The New York Post. “He played big time. That’s just who he is. He’s a true professional, ever since he walked into the league,” Brunson said of the minimum-salary vet. “He’s up to any task you put in front of him. He’s been that player, he’s been that player for us. We have utmost faith in him.”
- Knicks center Mitchell Robinson had some success against Cleveland in the first half of Game 1, but he was played off the floor in the second half when the Cavaliers began intentionally fouling him, notes Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. Robinson went 2-of-8 from the free throw line and the Knicks were outscored by seven points during his four minutes on the court in the third quarter. “Mitch has been great for us the last few games in that situation,” Brown said. “We’re gonna continue to give him a chance. We’ll move him around and do some different things with him. Mitch can impact the game in different ways, so we need him on the floor.”
- Knicks owner James Dolan and Madison Square Garden Sports have taken the next step toward splitting the Knicks and the NHL’s New York Rangers into separate entities. Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico has the details.
Knicks Notes: Bridges, Towns, Robinson, Layoff
Knicks head coach Mike Brown decided to keep Mikal Bridges in the starting lineup after he struggled in the first three games of the first-round matchup vs. Atlanta. The veteran wing rewarded Brown’s faith in him by playing well at the end of that series and throughout the second-round sweep of Philadelphia, writes Jared Schwartz of The New York Post.
“It’s always great when your coach has got trust in you,” Bridges said after practice on Saturday. “Yeah, that’s great. And teammates staying with it, keeping me confident, as well. I think we all know the end goal is just trying to win games and do whatever it takes to win. Even in my mistakes, just try to do whatever it takes and know that I just gotta bounce back and learn from them.”
Bridges, who went scoreless with four turnovers in 21 minutes in the Game 3 loss vs. the Hawks, has averaged 15.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.1 steals on .667/.444/1.000 shooting over the last seven games, all victories. He played a critical role in slowing down Sixers star Tyrese Maxey, Schwartz notes.
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- Brown hasn’t used the double-big lineup of Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson very much during the playoffs, but the results have been spectacular when they’ve been on the court together, notes Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News (subscription required). In their 20 shared minutes, the Knicks are outscoring opponents by an average of 27.9 points per 100 possessions. “I came to a little bit of a revelation with those guys,” Brown said. “We feel it’s a little easier to play with them — not just defensively, but offensively, too.”
- The Knicks have won seven straight games since Brown gave Towns a greater role in running the offense, and Towns’ college coach, John Calipari, has been delighted by the results, per Mike Lupica of The New York Daily News (subscription required).“What everybody is seeing is that playing through him the way they are doesn’t take away from anybody else’s game,” Calipari said. “On the contrary, it adds to everybody else’s game. And is exactly right for this team. The style of game he’s been playing, especially since they got behind the Hawks, I call that (Nikola) Jokic style, and that’s without him getting a ton of shots.”
- The Knicks closed out their second-round series last Sunday and will have a nine-day break by the time the conference finals begin Tuesday night. Brown isn’t sure whether that will be an advantage for his team or not, relays Zach Braziller of The New York Post. “I’ve been in both situations, playing while a team’s waiting and I’ve been waiting while a team’s playing,” Brown said. “You can say a lot theoretically. You can say they’re going to be tired, but you can also say they have a competitive edge because they’ve been going at it for seven games and we’ve been off. You keep trying to do different things during the course of the downtime to keep them sharp, keep them focused and try to keep their competitive edge up as much as you can.”