Cleveland Cavaliers vs. New York Knicks — Game 1 Postgame Media Availability

[0:00] Malika's here Howard you stayed thank you so you've been the subway by now come [5:05] on yeah it's tough one you know that they hit some really tough shots in that [5:21] fourth quarter you know those two threes prayer threes and the shot clock and we [5:25] got a little unlucky quite honestly you know Brunson obviously took over at the [5:31] end and you know we started double team and I'm gonna try to try to do some [5:35] different things but I said I'm super proud of the way our group played we [5:41] played great basketball tonight for you know three quarters you know unfortunately [5:48] fourth quarter you know they you know they dominated us in the fourth quarter [5:54] when we had the ball no what are you saying offensively yeah you know if my [6:04] only regret in this this can happen when you get a little fatigue I think it just [6:10] stopped moving and we were pinging the ball all over the place great ball [6:14] movement and then it just got a little a little stagnant and I told the guys I [6:19] said we played great basketball majority of the game just the ball ball stuck at [6:23] the end there a little bit got to keep trusting past and then but I also say [6:28] we got a ton of great looks it didn't go in so you know we'll look at it I think [6:35] decisions got to be better you know especially when we get fatigued sometimes [6:39] we you know we tend to want to you know put our heads down too much just got to [6:44] find the open guy I don't know I haven't heard anything nothing from the [6:54] training camp I have from that from our training staff so yeah I mean we you know [7:04] obviously tried to you know you know attack their their weaker defenders [7:11] obviously yeah he had the ball I thought he had a ball ton you know yeah I mean we [7:28] held him in check most of the game right it was a you know basically fourth quarter he [7:33] got he got loose and you know we definitely tried to mix up some stuff throw some [7:38] stuff at him we'll have to keep looking at it had a lot of you know his tough [7:42] floaters and hit that you know tough contested three you know I felt like they [7:48] hit a lot of tough shots you know I mean the two bridges trees like you know kind of [7:54] what are you gonna do you know yeah that's all right yeah we adjusted we [8:08] adjusted to that you know you know started sending to Adam getting the ball [8:12] out of his hands full rotating so we adjusted you know James is good most the [8:18] game listen we weren't you know we weren't great defensively in the fourth [8:23] quarter you know and like I said the ball stuck a little bit too much you know [8:29] that was that was a key no listen he's been one of our best defenders in these [8:39] play the playoffs I trust them you know smart great hands didn't think about [8:44] that yeah I like to hold my timeouts I mean I keep you know I didn't want to [9:03] get one time out at the end of the game one or two point game I try to hold them [9:08] you know I thought what his usage was I thought he had to ball a lot in his hands [9:27] so I don't know you know shots we're making the right play you know listen they [9:34] were they were blitzing to a lot of blitzes I had to get it out of his hands [9:37] blitzing James so and I was pleased with how those guys got the ball out of [9:42] their hands you got two on it you got to throw it to the next guy all right [9:47] thanks everybody I gotta give my group credit they've been resilient all year [20:17] and I don't I don't know if I've seen that in a playoff game I don't know if I've [20:23] been a part of it maybe I have but to be down 18 19 20 whatever we were down and [20:29] hey and to find a way to come back and win I mean I take my hat off to my group you [20:36] know Cleveland they were shooting the ball well they were turning us over they [20:40] were getting the ball in the pocket and taking advantage of us and we just found [20:46] a way we found a group of five guys that went out there ended up getting stops and [20:52] you know scoring the basketball Landry Shammott was great Landry Shammott was [20:58] great on both ends of the floor he he came up big you know you're not gonna stop a [21:03] guy like Donovan Mitchell you just got to make him work and Landry tried like heck to [21:08] make him work he was he was fantastic he was the difference in the ball game [21:13] tonight on both ends of the floor Mikkel was great too Mikkel was great on both [21:20] ends of the floor Cat finally got going he had a double-double which was huge we [21:26] needed every rebound that he came up with and then then OG OG gave us a lot of [21:33] versatility defensively and allowed us to do different things on that end of the [21:37] floor and as a team you know you combine the fourth quarter and overtime and they [21:45] score a total of 21 points that's phenomenal especially against that team [21:51] you know our guys were really active defensively we were five for five when it [21:57] came to 50 50 balls it was just a great defensive performance in the last quarter [22:04] and overtime so great win by our guys and obviously we don't get it done if Jalen [22:12] Brunson doesn't play like one of the MVP guys in the league he was phenomenal he did [22:20] what he was supposed to do tonight and it definitely helped us get the win coach in [22:27] the fourth quarter there you got a lot of Brunson on on Harden I mean was that just [22:32] something you guys are looking for and is that kind of an advantageous matchup for [22:36] you that really helped you guys down the stretch yeah you know it's sometimes you [22:41] got to do what the game dictates and they were trying to do the same thing with [22:46] with Jalen and so we said okay you know we feel like we can play that game we try [22:51] not to play that game much but we feel like we have a guy that we can play that [22:55] game with and Jalen and so you know just like we have to try to figure out different ways [23:02] to guard Harden and Mitchell they got to figure out different ways to guard Jalen but we were [23:07] there is no secret we were attacking Harden Mike what was your thought process nine minutes [23:14] to go when you went with Landry like what did you see at that point that let you know [23:18] that's where I have to go you know we talked about it throughout the course of the game we [23:24] talked about it this morning as a staff to it should you know we feel like we can get [23:29] some spray threes and Landry's been shooting the ball really well for us and you know you [23:35] you have Landry out there you have OG out there you have Mikael out there and you have [23:39] Cat or Mitch and Jalen and they have to guard traditional if they want to put a big on Landry [23:44] great put a big on Landry if you want to put a big on OG great put a big on OG but then when [23:49] you close out you're going to have to take away the three and the drive so we just felt [23:54] defensively Landry's a big guard he's physical moves his feet great and he can defend without [24:00] foul and and so to play him knowing that you know they're going to pack the paint when Jalen comes [24:07] and the spray is going to be there that's what we decided to do Mike besides the shot making Jalen [24:14] look like it was one huddle where he looked like he was kind of animatedly going at everybody just [24:19] kind of were you seeing something in the huddle from him captain wise well he's you know he's leader [24:26] he's our guy and he he felt we need to play faster he felt we needed to be better defensively [24:35] there were a couple of things that he felt and and he made sure that we knew and our guys responded [24:41] to him Mike you you mentioned a little bit Landry opening up the offense and yeah that having a big [24:47] the the other side of that was them having Jared Allen on on Josh and and Lance kind of clogging up [24:52] in those moments what do you feel like in those moments when Josh is on the court and they're [24:56] guarding him with Allen that you guys can can do to open up more space uh when they have that matchup [25:01] we got to keep moving them around um if Josh is open in his feet or set he's got to let it fly [25:07] you know he's made shots we feel like he'll make shots and if he doesn't want to make if he doesn't [25:11] want to shoot it he can get to his nitty or he can go dho with somebody uh a quick dho with somebody [25:17] so you know Josh we faced this coverage all year and we played well throughout the course of the year [25:24] and we we faced it in in Atlanta so um we just you know we started the game off two for 19 from the [25:31] three-point line and it wasn't just Josh we had some pretty good looks from the right people [25:35] and you know if those go in the mojo is a little bit different and um you know they didn't and [25:41] Cleveland was able to get back into it and so you know we just the game's about adjustments we made [25:47] an adjustment down the stretch and you know we were fortunate to be able to come back and get the win [25:51] Mike you've uh you've talked about this team's resilience all year when you're down 22 so late [25:57] does that does any part of you consider packing it up and moving on to game two did you expect your [26:01] team to be able to make that that massive comeback that late in the game it was still a lot of time [26:06] and and you know I felt that you know if if we open the floor up a little bit and we hit a couple [26:16] threes uh while getting some stops you know our crowd is fantastic it's it's the best in the league [26:21] and our guys felt their energy as soon as we got a couple of stops made a couple of shots the crowd [26:27] was right back in the game and so you know when you're when you got nine minutes and something [26:32] seconds left on the on on on the game clock I've seen us defending the fourth quarter out of this [26:40] world and you know you open the floor up a little bit now it just takes the right guys shooting the [26:45] basketball and knocking down some shots like I said Mikel hit a couple big ones Landry hit some big [26:50] ones and when that happens with the crowd that we have uh shout out Nick fans you guys were freaking [26:56] awesome tonight um anything can happen Mike it gets a little lost with um the comeback but [27:04] Mitch you know their decision to to foul him and then send him to the line I mean you left him out [27:07] there for a pretty long time I guess what went into that is that just wanted to give him a chance [27:11] you know to shoot through it I guess yeah you wanted to give him a chance and um you know Mitch [27:16] has been great for us the last few games uh in that situation and we're going to keep [27:21] we're going to continue to give him a chance we'll move him around and do some different things with [27:26] him uh but um you know Mitch can impact the game in different ways and so we need him on the floor [27:34] Mike considering the schedule you guys have had you know multiple days off over a week off Cleveland [27:41] have been playing in this sort of every other day schedule did you think that fatigue could play a [27:47] factor late in the fourth quarter if you hung around and you needed to have an extra energy burst like you [27:53] have it uh it's that's it's hard to you know we we did tell our guys I mean it's [28:00] it is known that you know Cleveland's guards they've played you know at 50 percent more minutes than us [28:09] than our guards and so you know if you're playing every other day could that take a toll [28:14] we told our guys it could take a toll so stay with it no matter what the score is down the stretch [28:18] but you don't really you don't really know um if if it does or not you know but you know you hope [28:25] telling your guys that uh it gives you a little bit of a psychological advantage um you know I'm a [28:33] bled out of secret when I was with Golden State we played Houston in the playoffs uh we counted James [28:39] Harden's dribbles and and and uh you know we told our guys hey he's dribbling close to a thousand times [28:46] he's not doing that anymore because they got Donovan Mitchell but at the time we were like [28:49] he's dribbling almost a thousand times a game and you know our high guys KD at like 300 or right below [28:57] 300 keep picking them up full court keep making them dribble because at the end of the series [29:02] at the end of games it's gonna wear them down and did it probably not you know but but you know [29:09] you you you say stuff like that to help give your guys a psychological advantage so I don't know uh [29:17] coach I want to go back to the the resiliency part of what you said about this team like throughout the [29:22] course of a game there could be bad breaks and there could be like bad effort and there are times where [29:27] again you guys are struggling to to kind of make a stop and then the ball just wasn't bouncing you guys's [29:32] way like did you ever feel like did you ever have to like at one of the timeouts kind of get on them on [29:38] their effort to get the momentum back in you guys's favor yeah you know especially early on we we [29:45] didn't look like ourselves um especially when we were doubling and coming out of the double teams [29:50] and kind of flying around we were really slow in those areas and uh and then you know I I felt we [29:58] played you know we turned the ball over too much we had too many you know it's hard to have 19 turnovers [30:04] and win a basketball game and you know a handful of them were self-inflicted us throwing the ball [30:09] away us jumping in the air when we hit the paint we've done a fantastic job most of playoffs playing [30:15] off of two feet when we hit the paint and we just kept leaving our feet and throwing the ball around so [30:21] we have to do a better job taking care of the ball we have to do a better job of making sure that [30:26] what no matter what coverage we're in we're continuing to do it at the highest rate uh when it comes to [30:33] energy and effort and and with the focus you know we have to be locked in and you know it's it's it's [30:40] great to get a win during this time of the year knowing that we can be better and i'm sure cleveland [30:44] feels like they can be better too but but we know we can be better than what we were tonight thank you [30:50] guys mike you brought up germany what were you thinking about it with the whole light here um so many things [31:10] i think played a factor into it um we didn't close it out we got to clean up on film and go from there [31:16] it's one loss i don't know if y'all can can you hear me um it's one loss um it's a bad loss but [31:24] all we can do is go back watch the film and fix it it's one game we could have lost by 40 still would [31:31] have been 1-0 so just watch the film we played you know pretty solid for three quarters or so um we'll [31:39] make adjustments and go from there it was a little comfortable we could have uh done some things [31:52] collectively and and we did the nets on us um but ultimately um can do nothing about it now we [31:59] got to go out there and watch the film and fix it for game two no not that difficult i just and then [32:11] we got some good looks and we missed um so and they made some you know they got bounces as well but um [32:18] that can't happen um but it did we can't let it we play in two days we can't sit here and let it [32:23] kill our momentum kill what we've been doing um it's not a good loss but we got to go out there and [32:28] respond for game two just we're up 22 as simple as that can't happen but you watch the film you [32:37] get ready for game two so i mean i'll watch the film and and figure it out and i don't think it's [33:05] anything to to overreact to um but you know no scenarios you know you got to feel it and like i've [33:13] always said it's a feel thing um and go back and watch the film and i have an answer for you tomorrow [33:19] i'm great should have won the game yo i ain't gonna put it on either of those things and even if there [33:33] was complacency we're up 22 with god knows how much time eight minutes god win the game we didn't [33:50] i mean it's the it's it's no different than playing a solid game in toronto and rj barrett hits the [33:58] shot that goes all the way it's up it's the same as one loss um they're bad we've had some tough ones [34:04] but it's one loss it's not like that loss you know gives them two or three games right it's one so we have [34:10] an opportunity to come back here in two days and and steal one here and that's really all it is um [34:17] you know if you allow yourself to go down that path you won't be ready for game two so that's pretty [34:23] much the the mindset one thousand percent keep your head up and go from there um don't let one quarter [34:35] um affect you for the rest of the series a long series um there's things that we can do um things [34:42] that we did that are that are you know something like you said positive things we can look forward [34:47] to but um yeah we should have won the game we didn't that's one game let's respond for game two [34:52] i said in the locker room just that we lost we blew it all right let's run for game two simple as that [35:09] something we can clean up if you give credit where credit's due to them um but we stuff we can clean [35:18] up um and we'll be ready we'll be better just different coverages in different ways um maybe [35:44] we could have gotten a little bit earlier you know i think kind of getting out of brightson's hands [35:47] because i think that's something we can adjust to but ultimately you know this isn't this isn't on him [35:53] like it's on all of us right this isn't just because of a certain stretch like no like we still [35:59] have opportunities on the other end as well to to take advantage and score and we didn't so it's not [36:03] just on one person and when he's been around the league long enough he understands it's 17 years [36:07] right but in the same token hey we it happened and we'll respond for game two mm-hmm sam got a great [36:17] look that he's been he's been hitting for years it didn't go in and simple as that thank you yeah i [40:51] mean definitely hurts um you want to win game one and especially when you're up like that you want to [40:57] you want to win those games and um we got to do better with finishing that but um we all know it's not [41:06] an easy road and you got to bounce back and next game we got to uh come out and try to get a dub yeah [41:20] for sure um we've done it before we've been down we two um we lost the first two games the last series [41:28] so um we've been here before um but um you just got to bounce back and look at the film see what we [41:35] could change and um and fix that in the fourth i think we just slowed the pace up i think we got to [41:54] keep playing fast even though we're up um not try to play the clock until later i feel like we we try [42:01] to play the clock a little early and um and they started going on their run so uh we got to do a [42:08] better job of keeping the pace up regardless of of score is your frustration level in that i mean [42:25] in the moment you just are focused on the next play i mean you try to get the stop and then you go to [42:31] move on to the next play you try to score down there and um and then after the fact uh you watch [42:38] the film and and see what's what's going on but um but yeah in the moment um we're just trying to get [42:44] stops and and play basketball for sure um big three hit it and um yeah hope that that helps you know [43:06] um definitely a big shot but i mean we we got to play defense on the down the stretch um get stops [43:15] and um keep pushing pace uh keep moving fast get off the ball um and play simple basketball [43:32] yeah i think we play a pretty uh good basketball throughout most of the game it's just that fourth [43:39] we just gotta keep playing that way you know um but we we know we did a pretty good job for most of [43:46] the game so that's a positive and um we gotta just continue that into next game and um just finish the [43:52] whole game that way can you can you talk about what changed in that uh that fourth quarter you guys [53:51] were down by 22 and you know coming into the game there was a question around russ rest versus russ did [53:58] you feel any of that in the way the game started um yeah i mean to be real yeah it was definitely [54:05] rust can you can you talk about what changed in that uh that fourth quarter you guys were down by 22 [54:25] and you know coming into the game there was a question around russ rest versus russ did you [54:30] feel any of that in the way the game started yeah i mean to be real yeah it was definitely rust you can [54:38] see it's a testament to the grit the resiliency of this locker room at the game on the rust great [54:56] offensive amazing clutch plays our defense that carried us in this playoffs that showed up did [55:19] they do you know they obviously have very good big men defenders with mobley and allen today was it [55:27] more than what they did against you in terms of turnovers and maybe you're not having your best [55:32] game offensively or do you think it was just rust and it just wasn't you weren't quite on your game [55:37] i think the knicks found a way to win and that's all i'm not about to find a way up on the board and i think [55:47] that's what's special tonight last year game one of the eastern conference you guys had the [55:55] halliburton shot that that heartbreaker and uh the game the year before that in the western conference [56:01] finals the luca yeah luca shot well i was going to ask you if it's cross your mind at all that you're [56:07] kind of on the other side of it in game one this year so it sounds like he has so i'll ask you [56:13] how does it feel to be on the other side of it what are you thinking i mean it's it's it's always great [56:20] when you could win in the playoffs obviously special way hello it's always special when you [56:27] could uh get a win especially at the start of the series and uh you know against a great team to find [56:34] a way to win as a as a unit shows that you know we could go out there and we just got to play better [56:39] but inexpensive expensive lesson learned tonight got a question for each of you uh starting with [56:45] mikhail those uh two huge threes that you hit in crunch time just can you kind of walk us through how [56:51] it felt watching those go through and did it feel good when they left your hands did you know they [56:54] were going in um yeah i think both of them did um just trying to drive make a play i think they did [57:02] a great job of denying out and then teammates just you know reminded me the shot clock so just trying [57:07] to make a play and then the last one just this man right here just trusting me you know you know [57:12] that same side corner three and um just trying to be ready and just you know try to make the shot [57:17] really just for any of all of you i'll ask you first jalen maybe just what um what kind of boost [57:28] did shammott give you guys tonight not only with that shot but defensively on mitchell down the stretch [57:32] yeah he played big time um that's just who he is um he's a true professional uh ever since he's [57:40] walked into the league and then uh i've got to see in his work uh firsthand this past couple years and so [57:48] he's up to any tasks that you you put in front of him and so uh he's just he's been that player he's [57:53] been that player for us and uh we have the utmost faith in him i guess for any of you guys um it [57:59] looked when you're down 22 and even before that and it was one time kind of animated in the huddle [58:04] just kind of what do you guys say to each other to keep each other going when it's not going yeah [58:10] just uh keep fighting keep chipping away you know we're not going to get it back at one one [58:15] possession um most importantly sticking together you know no matter how that game finished now habits [58:23] translate and so they could translate to the next game so just finishing the game strong [58:26] regardless of whatever whatever's going on making sure we have the right habits so you know we'll be [58:32] going the next game you know we're we're doing what we're just we're doing you know we're not just [58:39] giving up you know we don't want to give up ever and so um just having faith in each other [58:44] michael question for you um you got assistance um i appreciate you was wondering uh just about [58:54] your play against atlanta and philadelphia it felt like the kind of the the lock that you fit in was [59:00] was the defensive role like that was your big um thing that you brought to the table against both [59:05] of those teams and that's just kind of synonymous with with who you are and your reputation at this [59:10] point so i was wondering what it's like bringing that kind of level of intensity defensively against [59:16] all sorts of different kinds of opponents even despite you know whatever's happening in the scoring [59:19] column you have it looks at least like you have such a pride in that end of the floor i was wondering how [59:25] you keep that level of motivation up um yeah i think just how i've always been um just trying to [59:32] be a defender make plays and obviously as i got older just kind of feeding to that role when i got [59:36] to college um in the league as well but yeah just taking on that challenge um and definitely just one [59:43] of my rules to play defense to guard the best guys and obviously it's never by myself like you know [59:50] i got teammates behind me that's going to help me but um yeah it's just it's always dope to have [59:56] the challenges regarding different guys who are really skillful um you know from from nakil cj to [1:00:05] maxi pg you know now to james and uh donovan so um yeah just somehow we've been embracing and um [1:00:13] trying to keep getting better hey carl here and i wanted to ask you what thing has been the most [1:00:23] important for the team to make the comeback possible thanks our defense our defense was fantastic in the [1:00:30] fourth quarter and overtime um like i said before it's you have amazing shot makers like jb and kale [1:00:37] hitting shots and and landry shaman hitting shots but at the end of the day it's the defense that won [1:00:42] us the game because we were already in the deficit so um for us to have our offense finally start [1:00:48] clicking and then on on the flip side as well on defense to get stops uh that's what that was that [1:00:53] was a turning point in the game against a really great team so um it was true resiliency grit and uh [1:00:59] attention to detail by the guys in the huddle jalen you started attacking almost every possession that [1:01:05] fourth quarter it seemed like was it just matter if you found something that was working or just [1:01:10] the outside shot wasn't going and it's got to find a plan b yeah um just being in attack mode [1:01:18] um just trying to find seams to get to where i can i feel comfortable um finally one did go down [1:01:25] that's just because of the rhythm i created uh from the shots beforehand but um [1:01:29] like kat said it starts with our defense um we're the way we were able to get stops and go [1:01:35] and then um them having the trust in me um it's really required to them i'm going to do two more [1:01:42] for all three of you can you talk about what it was like to be a part of what seemed like a may [1:01:49] miracle at the garden i mean you know uh it was it's always special when you give your fans something [1:01:56] to cheer for and for us to uh you know it's been a tough go around for them for the first three [1:02:01] quarters of the game and uh for us to come in that huddle and and with the energy of the fans and [1:02:08] the fans really showing us so much love and support to give them something to cheer for [1:02:13] in the fourth uh it's it's it's always an honor it's a it's a privilege to be able to do and uh [1:02:19] you know this team all we want to do is make the city proud and bring the city wins and to be able [1:02:25] to accomplish that tonight in the night where it didn't seem like it was going to happen is a [1:02:28] it's an honor and it's it's truly uh something special definitely thankful because they could [1:02:33] have walked out if they wanted to same with them jaylen uh cat talked about a little bit before um [1:02:44] but with with the way game one went last year and this basically being a reversal of that you know is [1:02:49] that cathartic at all is that um fitting almost you know what what do you make of that sort of [1:02:53] basically flipping the script nothing just moving on all right what is it mango passion