It looked like the New York Knicks would once again play down to the level of their opponent, but after a few minutes, that turned out to be just a mirage.
New York won for the fourth time in as many attempts—125-101 against Charlotte on Thursday—and for the third time at MSG, before wrapping up a four-game homestand on Saturday against the lowly Pistons, which should lead to a fifth consecutive victory.
Here is what Coach Thibs and several members of the Knickerbockers had to say before and after Thursday’s affair.
Tom Thibodeau
On the Knicks’ league-best offensive rating:
“I just think it’s all-around play. Playing unselfishly, creating advantages for each other, taking good shots.
“We want to be top 10 on both sides of the ball. But I think we established that for the past couple of years, we’ve been pretty highly rated offensively.”
On the team’s unselfishness and ball movement:
“They’ve made a conscious effort to move the ball and create advantages. The more you help somebody else, the more you’re helping yourself.
“I think the cuts have been decisive; driving the ball off the cut, and then relocating, and just being unselfish, making the extra pass to get a great shot. That takes everyone working together, and I think they’re all doing that.
“The unselfishness has been terrific.”
On OG Anunoby’s defensive plays:
“The plays that [OG Anunoby] was making—he’s the only one that could make them. He’s everywhere. He’s flying around. He just covers so much ground.
“Plays like that (his blocks) unite and inspire the team. We’ve got to be a 48-minute team. They gave me some stuff that I could look at.”
On OG Anunoby smiling after his blocks:
“He’s being checked right now.”
On handling injuries and team depth:
“There’s nothing you can do, really, to prevent the injuries. They’re going to happen. That’s why you have depth on your team, so when someone gets injured, you go to the next person, and that’s why your practices are important, your preparation is important.
“[Injuries and depth] really gave us an opportunity to look at different guys. Jericho Sims got in and played really well. Tyler Kolek has given us some good minutes.
“So it’s the next guy get in there, and that helps to develop your team. Over the course of the season, you need everybody. And that’s what we want our team to be.”
On how Karl-Anthony Towns has adapted to playing center for the Knicks:
“It probably would be harder for a rookie to do it, but I think the fact that he’s got 10 years in the league, and he understands the league.
“Our players have played against him before, so I think that helps facilitate it, and then his skill set. Because he can shoot, he can pass, he can put it on the floor, he can fit in with anybody.”
On Achiuwa’s presence limiting Jericho Sims to three minutes and potentially removing him from the rotation:
“No. I didn’t like the energy of the group, so we just started searching for something that could get us going.
“So you’ve got to make sure that you’re getting things done out there.”
Jalen Brunson
On the Knicks’ performance against the Hornets:
“I think we put ourselves in a hole in the first quarter and then cut it to two obviously right before [halftime]. And then the beginning of the second half is how we should have started the game. We came out with a lot of energy defensively, got stops and easy baskets and that’s that.”
On feeling good after his injury scare:
“I feel amazing. I’ll see how I feel [Friday]. And that’s it.”
On the team’s offensive chemistry:
“I just think we have the basketball IQ and everything to go out there and do what’s asked of us.
“We know we have a lot of weapons out there. We know we have a lot of threats all over the court. We just have to play off each other.”
On how the Knicks overcame their rough start against the Hornets:
“He knew we were in a hole, and I think his threes sort of closed that gap. That settled us down, too, and that got us going.”
Karl-Anthony Towns
On playing at Madison Square Garden:
“It’s magical to be here in the Mecca, to be here in MSG, to have the crowd react like that to a play that you make.
“Obviously, (the dunk on Moussa Diabate) was a momentum changer and it’s a boost to the morale of this team and the energy of this team.”
On his smooth and quick adaptation to the Knicks’ fam:
“It’s these guys in the locker room. They’ve welcomed me with open arms, and they’re so great about helping me in the offense.
“I like to say ‘the Knicks way.’ [Brunson’s] been amazing. Josh [Hart], OG [Anunoby] have really helped me in this transition.”
On the Knicks’ unselfishness and focus on winning:
“I think y’all see, we’re not about the stats. We’re just trying to get wins for our crowd and our city.
“Wherever the ball goes, the defense will tell us who gets the shot, who gets to have that opportunity. Everyone in the locker room was excited and happy for others hitting shots, making the extra pass — even if it costs you a stat. That’s winning basketball, and that’s what New York wants to see.”
On changing his shorts shielded by teammates:
“They all just had the random idea that (surrounding me) was going to be the smartest idea. I was just going to put the second pair of shorts on top. I felt like that was the smartest option.
“We got basketball IQ—I don’t know about other IQ.”
Mikal Bridges talks about playing the whole first half tonight vs. the Hornets:
“I didn’t realize it until I sat down at halftime. Kind of blacked out in the second quarter, so I kind of wasn’t tired at all”
Josh Hart: “Ooo okay”
Mikal: “I hate him” pic.twitter.com/7KJdedMZWJ
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) December 6, 2024
Mikal Bridges
On playing the whole first half:
“I didn’t realize it until I sat down at halftime. Kind of blacked out in the second quarter, so I kind of wasn’t tired at all.”
On OG Anunoby’s mits:
“He’s just a freak of nature getting those blocks. I wish my hands were that big”
Josh Hart
On anticipating opportunities and taking advantage of the Hornets’ defensive scheme:
“I was getting wide-open shots. They did it preseason, and in Charlotte, so I knew I was gonna have open shots.”
On the Knicks’ shooting and unselfishness:
“We knew they were going to be physical, so we used that physicality against them. We got into our sets, and when they converge on the paint, kick out and make shots.
“So I think we did that. I think we were very selfless.”
On the Knicks’ soft upcoming schedule:
“I think we all look at the schedule. I think, just out of curiosity, we want to know what the month entails.
“We have enough teams that have struggled so far, but at the end of the day those teams—they’re all good players that are here for a reason, so we can’t sit here and take anyone too lightly. You do that and you don’t come ready, it’s going to be a tough game.”
On Thibodeau’s reputation for overworking players:
“The reputation he has is kind of old. That’s just people on the outside saying that where all they see is the starters playing minutes. If you only do physical stuff on game days, that’s not a bad thing.
“We play hard on game day and most of the time the next day, if we aren’t fully off, there’s not much physical going on. It’s more mental. He does a good job of making sure we’re not overworked.
OG Anunoby
On the “OG” chants from the crowd:
“I love it. I love it every time. Even on the road in Denver, I loved it. Here I love it. I love it everywhere. It’s awesome.”
On being labeled as “deadpan”:
“That’s not true. I’m not deadpan. I’m exciting. Ask my teammates, I’m pretty exciting.”
On the Knicks’ offense:
“Everyone’s a threat. We play unselfishly, move the ball and try to find the best shot available.”
On creating a “human closet” so KAT could change his shorts:
“Another assist. A team assist.
Precious Achiuwa
On the reception from the MSG crowd during his debut on Thursday:
“[The reception] means a lot to me. Obviously, New York to me is very dear to my heart. So just being able to go out there and hear the crowd—it meant a lot to me.
“Definitely watching from the sideline has been very tough, but just being out there and knowing that the crowd is behind me throughout the whole process has been very reassuring.”
On his return after a long recovery:
“I was really happy to be out there. It’s been a long stretch, a long process of being out. Not fun at all, but it felt really good to be out there.”
On the challenges of recovering from his hamstring injury:
“It was a long process, every day, just hours and hours. Definitely there were times I thought that I was ready, but honestly, I had to be very careful because it’s something that can linger a long time.
“Everybody was very cooperative with it, understanding I had to take my time and make sure it was all healed up.”
