New York Knicks
Role Player
Knicks Bulletin: ‘You gotta beat us four times’
Source: https://www.postingandtoasting.com/2025/5/11/24427863/knicks-bulletin-you-gotta-beat-us-four-times
Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
Including quotes from ‘That Guy’ and the best rim-runner and finisher in the NBA!
In a must-win game for the Knicks, they said, the Celtics won.
In a series-swinging game, as they said and even in defeat, the Knicks still lead the series 2-1 entering Game 4 and cannot be down before Game 5.
Here’s what Coach Thibs, some Knicks, and a few bragging C’s said after Saturday’s game.
Tom Thibodeau
On the Knicks’ wing versatility and overall defense:
“I think when you put OG with Mikal and Josh, that wing versatility is huge. To add in what [Mitchell Robinson] has brought to that and also Karl’s defense, I think it vastly improved.”
On pick-and-roll defense evaluation:
“There’s going to be a lot of pick-and-rolls in the game. What we always do is we evaluate how many were defended well, how many weren’t defended well? How many did they make a tough shot against? Was the scheme executed properly? Was it done with the proper amount of intensity? Was everyone tied together? So we’ll look at all those things.”
On the lack of transition offense to help Anunoby on that end:
“We didn’t get stops. We didn’t get into the open floor like we would’ve liked. When we do that, that tends to get everyone easy buckets, and we can play off that better.”
On the team energy suffering from missed shots:
“If you miss shots, you tend to not have the same type of energy. There’s a lot of different ways you can help win a game. No one is going to shoot great every night. There are going to be nights you don’t shoot it well but do other things to help the team win. That’s basically what we’ve done all year. We have to take a good, hard look at the film and get ready for the next game.”
On how to deal with Boston’s Hack-a-Mitch strategy:
“You’ve gotta make a decision between five [minutes left in a quarter] and two, and then you go from there. If he’s making (FTs), he stays. If he’s not, you gotta get him out. And then there’s the impact on the game. Is it more beneficial to leave him in? So there’s a lot of factors that go into that.”
On low-energy starts becoming a worrying trend:
“It’s the urgency we have to bring to a game, to a playoff game. We knew they would come out with aggression and we gotta make sure we’re bringing aggression and force as well. And again, there’s gonna be runs where you’re not making shots, and you get going with your defense, get a couple easy baskets and all of a sudden you get rhythm. So, we gotta be better and we will be.”
On the effort after missing shots:
“The intent was there, but sometimes if you miss shots, you tend to not have the same type of energy. There’s a lot of different ways you can help win a game. No one is going to shoot great every night but do other things to help the team win. That’s basically what we’ve done all year. We fell short today. And we have to take a good hard look at the film and get ourselves ready for the next game.”
Jalen Brunson
On the Celtics’ three-point success:
“Obviously, they are going to shoot their 3s however they get them. Fortunately for us, they were missing in Games 1 and 2. Tonight they made them.
“When it comes to our pick-and roll-defense, we are going to have our covers and we’re going to stick to what we do and we’re going to adjust when we need to adjust, but everything we need to do has to be with more intensity and more urgency and more force. Just from that standpoint, it’s not really schematically, it’s more do we want it? And tonight obviously that wasn’t the answer.”
On the overall Game 3 effort:
“We need to play with more of a sense of urgency. I don’t think we came in with the mindset of being satisfied, but I think it was subconsciously satisfied after being up 2–0. That’s not what we need to approach the game.”
On supportting Mitch:
“It’s a tough position to be in, especially mentally. But you have to encourage. We’re going to have each other’s backs regardless.”
On the Celtics’ three-point dominance:
“They were 20-of-40 from three, so it’s about all I can say. There’s a lot to discuss tomorrow and figure out. But we need to play with more of a sense of urgency.”
On learning from the Game 3 loss:
“We have to learn from it. Obviously, it’s not a game where we did a lot of things particularly well. We have to learn from it. It’s not something you can just flush.”
On the need to avoid big deficits:
“Against any NBA team, really, it’s tough for comebacks to happen. Yes, they’re a great team. They have the experience, they’re the defending champs. They have all that. I just don’t think we want to be in a 20-point hole each game. That’s not going to suit us well.”
On bouncing back in Game 4:
“Learn from Games 1–3, especially today. Just come out with some urgency and be ready to go on Monday.”
On staying confident despite his shooting struggles:
“Continue to shoot my shot, do the things I work on, continue to stay confident, that’s the biggest thing. Just trust what I do. That’s basically it right there.”
Josh Hart
On the Knicks’ early defensive struggles in Game 3:
“It was not what it should have been. It should have been more physical, more aggressive. We let them get into a rhythm early and feeling good early. That’s something that we can’t do. We made the mistake on that and, like I said, we have to learn from it.”
On the lack of defensive energy after missing offensive chances:
“We can’t let makes and misses affect how we’re playing on the defensive end. When we’re not making shots, we’ve got to make it tough for them. We’ve got to fly around more. We’ve got to rebound the ball, we’ve got to deny them of second chance points. We’ve got to do more things. We know this was far from our best game. We’ve got to regroup and get back to it Monday.”
On Boston’s urgency:
“They’re down 2–0, and you knew they were going to come out with a sense of urgency, a sense of desperation. That’s something that we should have done a better job with.”
On rebounding from the loss:
“They’re the defending champs, they weren’t coming here to lay down. We have to reset, regroup, watch the film, see where we can get better, and take that to Monday.”
Mikal Bridges
On the Celtics’ Game 3 tone-setting:
“The fans deserve better. We should win more games at home, obviously. It’s good to be a good road team, but it should be easier for us at home.”
On the need for more urgency and a better response:
“I thought they just came out with more urgency. That’s pretty much it. They came out, set the tone and put us on our heels.”
On the Knicks’ mindset going forward:
“I think we might’ve let human nature get to us a little bit, but I think they just came out more urgent knowing that they’re down. We just got to be better. We have to come out and treat every game like it’s 0–0.”
On the Celtics’ resilience:
“They just kept going, knowing they had a couple of games they lost the lead. Credit to them. They kept fighting and kept playing.”
Karl-Anthony Towns
On playing through injury:
“It is what it is. I just want to do whatever I can to be out there. It is what it is. I’m gonna keep finding ways to play, so I ain’t tripping.”
On the need to play better from the get-go:
“It’s the NBA playoffs. We all gotta walk in with that kind of urgency. That shouldn’t be something that we have to tap into. It falls on all of us to come in with that kind of urgency, that desperation, that will. Not when we’re down 20.”
On the Knicks’ lack of execution in Game 3:
“[We’re] just not executing enough. I know I’m gonna say the word and y’all gonna get tired of hearing me say it, but it’s true: the team that executes the most for the longest duration usually ends up winning in the playoffs. We just didn’t execute enough early on, and we gave them confidence.”
On Boston’s Game 3 offense:
“They started hitting some shots and just unfortunately, we couldn’t match up with them with their offensive firepower at the time. So they put us in a hole we just never countered, and found ourselves, like usual, getting out of the 20-point hole and finding a way to tie the game and win the game. I told y’all last time, we can’t afford to keep doing that type of game. We know it’s gonna cost us.”
Joe Mazzulla
On OG Anunoby and how to deal with him:
“He’s a great player, so you’re not gonna be able to do that all the time. To me, he gets a lot of stuff in the half-court on your help reads, and he’s one of the best defenders in getting in passing lanes, getting out in transition. The best way to defend these guys is to attack them with proper spacing, proper reads so that we don’t have live-ball turnovers and allow them to get out in transition. You just have to take care of those margins.”
On trusting the Hack-a-Mitch thing:
“Just process over results. You just always stick to the process of what you think gives you the best chance to win on that possession and to win in that game.”
On the Celtics’ mindset entering Game 3 down 0-2:
“You just have to tap into your darkness.”
On Boston’s mental toughness through adversity:
“I’ve said it a thousand times, there’s no one way of how it’s supposed to go. You get caught up when your expectations aren’t met, and so there’s no expectations. We’re on a path of trying to go after greatness and you don’t get to dictate the test that’s in front of you.”
On enduring pressure:
“If you plan on doing this for a long time, trust me, it’ll be a lot worse than the last 72 hours, and that’s the perspective you have to have. This is the fun part. I didn’t get into the journey for it to be easy. It’s been dark, but in a good way.”
On the Celitcs’ offensive approach:
“When you can dictate a sense of tempo by getting out to your spacing as (quickly) as possible, it’s easier to see the reads that are there, and we were deliberate in that tonight. Decent in the first two games, but it was better tonight.”
Jaylen Brown
On the series outlook:
“You gotta beat us four times. That’s what it comes down to. Not twice. Not once. Not three. You gotta win four games, so it’s a lot of basketball to be played.”
On the improved Game 3 three-point shooting:
“We got open shots, shoot them with confidence, knock them down. We got great shooters on this team. … I think we can even shoot the ball even better and be even more aggressive. As we get more comfortable in this series, hopefully we’ll be able to see that.”
On execution and urgency:
“Just continue to play basketball all the way through the game. And I think we did that tonight. That’s why the result was what it was.”
On his league-best skills:
“I don’t think anybody on our team or maybe even in the league can get into the paint like I can, especially when I’m moving and my body’s feeling the way it should be. So that’s my goal: just to get in the paint, finish, make them help, make them collapse and then just find my guys for just open reads and play from there.”
Jayson Tatum on what comes with "being 'That Guy'"pic.twitter.com/IVH6lHDVz7
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) May 10, 2025Jayson Tatum
On his better shooting performance and finally finding paydirt:
“It was just a matter of time. We’re all professionals, we work really hard on our craft, put a lot of time in. You understand there’s times where your shot might not be falling, but you know it always balances out.”
On his league-wide identity and dealing with high expectations:
“You understand… what comes with being ‘that guy’. I get a lot of praise, I get a lot of credit, I get a lot of accolades. But, you know, I’m not perfect. There’s times where, you know, I needed to play better. I needed to do more. And that’s what comes with being ‘that guy.’ People don’t just criticize me. There’s a lot of people came before me they criticize and a lot of people after me that they’ll criticize.
“So I always say, you got to be the same person when things are going great and when things aren’t going great. You can’t switch up. That’s the character of a good man.”
On the importance of the Game 3 response:
“Home court is important. Being great in front of our fans is important. You know how much we value their support. But at the same time, if you want to be special, if you want to be great, you’ve got to win some games on the road. It’s just about responding. We want to be perfect. We want to win every game. But that’s not going to happen. But how you respond to those moments is equally important as well.”
On his focus in Game 3:
“I wasn’t trying to prove anything today to anybody. It was an important game. It was important for us to respond as a team and just wanted to come out here and win. And that’s all that was really on my mind.”
Payton Pritchard
On Boston’s confidence:
“We watched areas where we can clean up a little bit, but it was really just being more confident and just letting it fly. Don’t second guess a good shot. You come off a ball screen [and] it’s there? Who cares what the outside world is saying. ‘We shoot too many threes.’ Everybody’s saying that. But if you believe in your shot and you’re able to hit it, then take it confidently.”
On feeling the pressure entering Game 3:
“This is the best moment you can be in. Down 2–0, backs against the wall, you just bring it and I think we were all prepared for it. We knew what the task at hand was.”
Stephon Marbury
On the Game 3 result and the series outlook:
“Being that I’m a sore loser, I’m going to keep it real short. We got exactly what we were supposed to get—an a**whooping.
“All of us, fans included. We took a nice one. And the Boston fans, they’re not saying anything right now. They’re like, ‘See, we’re the champs.’ But that’s okay. Because we weren’t going into this thinking Knicks in four. It just sounds good when you say it.
“Knicks in five!”
Source: https://www.postingandtoasting.com/2025/5/11/24427863/knicks-bulletin-you-gotta-beat-us-four-times