Best of the Knicks on WFAN: How the Knicks STOLE Game 1 to put the NBA on notice

**Evan Carton** (0:00)
And I don't care how much sleep we get. I really don't. I mean, I'm going to stand up. I'm going to stay up. I'm going to enjoy this. And I'm going to take it all in because I have never seen it before. I've never seen it like this. Nick fans know exactly what I'm talking about because all those Nick great teams from 73 and 69 and all those years, you know, it was a different type of basketball, didn't have the three point line. And never since that time have we had a team that has been so locked in together that has been so connected as Carmelo pointed out three and a half or whatever about a month ago and a month and a half ago, I guess now that they were disconnected. This team is so connected. It's ridiculous. And this is a double another double digit win. So it adds to their plus total as they have now won 12 in a row.

**Sean McMonigle** (0:49)
I would have never thought that at many points in this game.

**Evan Carton** (0:51)
And what I'm saying, you know, as somebody who's been around a long time watching these teams is the best Nick team I've ever seen. I've and they all do a little bit of everything. And Mike Brown's got a lot of guys that are participating. And I, you know, obviously Jalen Brunson takes over the fourth quarter. He does great. The Nick defense takes over the fourth quarter. They forced 13 turnovers. They hit all their free throws.
I thought a couple of big shots in this game. Of course, Jalen Brunson's three from the corner late. You have OG Ananobe throwing up three three-pointers. You have Deuce throwing up a three-pointer. He hit two of them. Shammet hit a couple. I mean, you saw, you got so many guys that have skin in the game. And then Josh Hart and even Richard Jefferson said at the end of the game last night, can I have a moment for Josh Hart? No, he didn't score but three points. And he's a guy that knows when his shot is off, he's not looking for it. He's just, he just doesn't look for it. And he wants to get somebody else involved, but he'll go after that ball. He'll get a rebound. He'll tip a steal.
They forced 13 turnovers yesterday. I mean, this is the Knicks team that we've seen and this is why I was saying, how are they, you know, underdogs by four points going into this game? I just, I just don't know how.

**Sean McMonigle** (2:02)
Well, I mean, there were a couple of times during the game where I was like, oh, okay, like, you know, now I'm seeing some of the matchup issues maybe and Jalen Brunson's not getting to his spots and Wembay is creating chaos and altering shots and altering the way the things that the Knicks do offensively, but they figured it out. And I think that's one of the biggest compliments you can give this group and Mike Brown is that there's nothing that gets thrown at them that they don't figure out the answer to sooner than later.

**Evan Carton** (2:28)
You know, they started out the game great. I mean, they had a nice lead and then all of a sudden that first time out and then all of a sudden flipped and they didn't shoot as well after that first time out. And of course, going into half time the way they did, you know, it was a little bit disheartening for sure.

**Sean McMonigle** (2:41)
Went from a two point lead to a seven point lead in like 15 seconds.

**Evan Carton** (2:44)
And that can happen in these games, especially with three pointers, especially with the good shooters that both teams have. I thought what I was worried about for the Knicks was because I thought they were, they were missing some shots late in this game that, you know, they really haven't been pushed in a game in a long time late in the fourth quarter. Like they have been sitting out those fourth quarters.
I was thinking, okay, man, are they tired? Are their legs just kind of, you know, not getting underneath them when they're shooting? And then all of a sudden, you know, Jalen Brunson starts doing his thing, his little floaters and his little step-back jumpers, you know, getting in the lane.

**Sean McMonigle** (3:18)
There was also four straight possessions where he missed shots and San Antonio really couldn't capitalize on that even though they did come back. But yeah, they were missing shots as well. And you're right about all these guys and everybody doing their part. I mean, you can talk about each one of these guys that logged minutes and how important they were last night. And Karl-Anthony Towns, after last year, after all the issues that he had, needed to turn into a different player for the Knicks to be able to be at this level. And he absolutely has. And the way that he was beating Wembayama off the ball early on in this game, just blowing by him, the defense that he was playing on him, the fact that he wasn't committing dumb fouls. He was just, he was a leader as he was miked up. You heard some of that stuff. I mean, this guy needed to change who he was on the court to make, to be a champion, and he has done every bit of that in this year and in the postseason. And it's just, it's incredible to watch. And Josh Hart with the rebounds, I mean, he was getting called, you know, he got three fouls quick, but this guy goes after that basketball like his life is on the line.