"We're going to lose. We're going to take a hit. But hopefully we don't take too many hits. And if and when we lose, there's a right way, because sometimes you just face a team and they're just hot. Sometimes it may not be your day or your night. As long as you're trying to do the things that you're supposed to do on both ends of the floor and you brought the correct approach to the game, then you chalk it up as, OK, let's learn from this and keep it moving."
"They kicked our behind on the glass. We did not box out. Our second-chance opportunities in terms of 15 points was something that we don't give. We can't get beat in that area, and it was due to our inability to get bodies on bodies and boxing out. The second thing is we fouled. We got beat off the dribble often. We got beat to the middle. And being lazy about it, we reached at the last second and sent them to the free-throw line."
"Those are the things we can control. Obviously, they have to..."
The Knicks suffered a 110-97 loss to the Lakers despite the Lakers missing LeBron James and being considered inferior to teams the Knicks had recently dominated. Coach Mike Brown identified three critical failures: the team allowed 30 offensive rebounds and 15 second-chance points due to poor boxing out, committed excessive fouls and defensive breakdowns that sent the Lakers to the free-throw line, and failed to protect the basketball. Brown emphasized these were controllable mistakes that determined the outcome. The loss was particularly frustrating because the Knicks played sluggishly from the opening tip and never led, failing to execute the fundamentals Brown had outlined as essential for handling defeats properly during the playoff stretch.
Read at Newsday
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