The New York Knicks had their 13-game win streak in these playoffs snapped at Madison Square Garden on Monday night, as the San Antonio Spurs took Game 3, 115-111, to avoid a potential sweep.
After the game, Knicks head coach Mike Brown took time to begin his press conference with a gripe he had with how the game was called by officials in the second half.
“First of all, I want to make sure I get something clear,” Brown began. “Coach Mitch Johnson and the Spurs. They won the game tonight. They came and took the game.
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“But I will say this: I never thought I would be in the NBA Finals and see a team get 24 free throw attempts in the second half to another team’s eight. I don’t think I complain much about officials or the fairness when it comes to the free throw attempts.”
Brown continued to say how great the Spurs played, but he couldn’t get over the free throw discrepancy.
“Maybe we were fouling,” Brown said. “But they fouled, too.”
Brown brought up a specific play where Karl-Anthony Towns secured a loose ball rebound under the hoop, and as he shot it, he was hit in the arm while also having the ball hit out of his hands. No foul was called.
There was another moment, not brought up by Brown, where Victor Wembanyama, who finished with a team-high 32 points, forcefully threw down Jalen Brunson’s head while they were battling for position in the Knicks’ offensive zone. Though this came in the first half, no foul was called.
Brown wasn’t trying to make excuses, though. He thought his team played stagnant offensively, while “we allowed them to get to the paint, and we did not pay attention to detail to what we are supposed to do defensively.”
Brown knew where the storyline was going to go after his comments, but his players didn’t share the same sentiment. Whether it was to avoid fines from the league or not, players like Towns didn’t believe the 24-8 free throw attempts in the second half “cost us the game.”
“Turned the ball over. Didn’t execute. Didn’t do what got us 13 straight wins in a row,” he said. “That’s how you lose a game. We didn’t do what we’ve been doing for 13 [games]. We decided to do something different, and it ain’t going to work. Throwing the ball away is a clear indication of how you’re going to lose the game, especially in the playoffs.”
Brunson even said during his postgame news conference that the Knicks “were fouling a lot and put them at the line about 30 times.”
The Knicks understand it was more than free throws that lost them the game. They came into the second half with a seven-point lead and quickly gave it back to the Spurs, something Brown pointed out as a difference maker.
“I thought San Antonio, they hit first at the beginning of the game, and they hit first at halftime,” he said.
The Knicks will have a chance at redemption on Wednesday night back in their building, where they will be looking to be the first home team in these Finals to win on their court.
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