Knicks Bulletin: ‘Came to New York, lost by 30. We don’t compete’

New York frustrated Giannis to no extent and he made it clear after losing the game.

Does it feel good to have Knicks basketball on a Friday night? Does it feel good to have New York hosting hoops inside the Garden? Does it feel good to beat a contender-on-paper-turned-pretender?

All of that was checked off on Nov. 8 as the Knicks destroyed the Bucks, beating Milwaukee 116-94 on the spot and giving them everything but a chance.

Here’s what Coach Thibs, a whole lot of Knickerbockers, and a handful of sad Buckos said before and after Friday’s victory.

Tom Thibodeau

On Cam Payne’s progress:

“[Payne] did more today so I think he’s getting closer.”

On the Knicks’ increased pace and teamwork in the win against the Bucks:

“The start of the game was important for us. I thought we played with a really good pace. I thought guys were looking for each other and they saw the floor really well.

“When you have a vision of everyone and you can recognize things, I think you end up getting a good rhythm from that.

“I liked how we played. I thought we shared the ball, we made plays, we cut, we got people open, we screened well. We did a lot of little things.”

On Brunson’s shooting woes on Friday:

“He didn’t have a great rhythm shooting the ball, but he did other things—nine assists, no turnovers, create easy baskets, play from a lead.”

On OG Anunoby’s and Mikal Bridges’ defensive efforts:

“You can’t measure all the little things on every possession that [Anunoby] does. Same with Mikal. [OG] takes on the primary ball-handler all game long and he keeps going—that says a lot about him.

“If we do that and everyone commits to playing defense, we can be good. We’re short-handed so we have to play hard and rebound the ball.

“If we do that as a team, good things will come from it.”

On Tyler Kolek’s work ethic:

“He’s got a great feel for the game and he’s a worker.”

On the team’s improvement following back-to-back losses:

“It’s a good, solid win. It’s improvement and that’s what we’re shooting for every day.”

Matt Ryan

On his family attending his Knicks debut:

“Absolutely, it’ll be a fun night. I wish my dad (who died in 2023) could be here, but he’ll be watching from up above.

“Nobody’s happier that I’m home than my mom. She’s been to everything. My parents drove me to everything all over the place. My mom hasn’t missed a first game of mine anywhere, not in college or the NBA.”

On his dream of playing for the Knicks:

“I always said if I could choose to play for one team, it would be here. I’m from here, so it’s definitely special.

“It’s unique, it’s a blessing, and I’m very lucky.”

Karl-Anthony Towns

On the Knicks’ defense and OG Anunoby’s impact in particular:

“You guys want to talk about offense, but I think defense is what won us the game tonight.

“OG is special. He’s so special. What he brings to the defense—I’ve been in the league for a decade now, and I don’t know if there’s been another guy like OG in my lifetime.

“One of the best defenders I’ve ever seen, and I played with Rudy Gobert.

“Man, he’s special. I can’t say that enough.”

On his integration with the Knicks:

“The guys in this locker room have welcomed me with open arms and made me feel comfortable and want me to play my game.

“Obviously, there’s gonna be times we have to find the cohesiveness and we’re not used to playing with each other, but every single day we’re getting better.

“Every single day we’re working on ourselves, and as a team we’re finding different ways we can utilize each other’s talents better.”

On his admiration for Carmelo Anthony:

“I think you could find out in interviews and stuff, I’m a huge Carmelo Anthony fan.

“Melo’s been an integral part of my childhood and playing basketball, and if I could have kind of the career that he’s had, I’d be very, very, very blessed and honored to even be close to one of the greatest of all time.”

On his appreciation for Anthony’s influence:

“It was cool when I was able to see Melo on the court and play against him, but in a weird way being here in New York and to be a Knick and to be with one of the greatest Knicks of all time in my life, is pretty cool.”

On Brunson’s role in setting up teammates:

“It starts with ‘Cap. ‘Cap put us in positions to succeed.”

Jalen Brunson

On his slow start to the season:

“My mentality has to be better. I haven’t been satisfied individually with how I’ve been playing, but we won. That’s all I care about, and we just move on from there.”

On building team chemistry:

“It’s going to take time to be cohesive, like how we were at the end of the year last year.

“It’s kind of a different team. So for us, we have to continue to jell every single day, and keep learning.”

On OG Anunoby’s defensive chops:

“It looks so easy and effortless the way he’s able to do that. It’s the pure talent that he has. The way he’s able to guard the ball, the way he plays off the ball in situations, he’s a phenomenal piece that we have.

“He’s been great since he’s been here.”

On Tyler Kolek’s potential:

“As a teammate, off the court, I love him.

“On the court, he’s the hardest worker and he’s gonna have a long career.”

On Towns making things easier for the team:

“He makes the game very easy for everyone on the court. It’s amazing having him here.”

OG Anunoby

On guarding Giannis Antetokounmpo:

“He’s a great player so make it as hard as possible.

“You know he’s going to score, just try to limit the scoring and also stop him from being as comfortable as he usually is.”

Josh Hart

On Anunoby’s performance against Giannis:

“He was good. That’s all you can ask for. [Giannis is] a great player, so to be able to be physical, make shots tough for him is big.”

On what he’s learned about Towns as a teammate:

“I don’t think he really likes being called ‘Meow.’”

Doc Rivers (Milwaukee Bucks Head Coach)

On Tom Thibodeau’s coaching and team chemistry:

“I know the Knicks’ coach and I know that he’s going to get it all together. I’m sure of that. Tom’s a phenomenal coach.

“And they made changes. They made changes to their core guys. Chemistry is an amazing thing. They had it last year and they’ll get it back. You don’t just wake up and have it. It takes time.

“It will come for them, I guarantee it.”

On giving Brook Lopez—instead of Giannis—the defensive assignment of handling KAT:

“We didn’t want Giannis to start the game on KAT. That was a mistake obviously”

Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks Player)

On the Bucks’ lack of competitiveness against the Knicks:

“At the end of the day, we’ve gotta compete. Teams are not just gonna give us games. They’re not gonna feel bad for us. We’ve gotta compete every single possession. Every loose ball, we’ve gotta get a body on the floor and put it on the line.

“But we didn’t compete at all.”

On losing to the Knicks by 30 points:

“Came to New York, lost by 30. We don’t compete—I’m not OK with that shit.

“Man, if you don’t wanna be here you can leave. If you not frustrated with losing, GTFOH. Don’t have a lot of times [at] MSG. Sometimes we take that s–t for granted. I’m not.”

Damian Lillard (Milwaukee Bucks Player)

On the Knicks as opponents:

“They’re a good team—I mean, it ain’t like we went in there and played against the Heat when LeBron went there—they made some changes. They were a good team last year. They’re a good team this year.”

Kendrick Perkins (Former NBA Player)

On Jalen Brunson’s performance this season:

“Last year Jalen Brunson was in my eyes the best player in the Eastern Conference. This year he’s not even top 15.”

On Tom Thibodeau being under more pressure than Doc Rivers:

“Tom Thibodeau in my eyes is under the most pressure as far as coaches under pressure—the Knicks actually have expectations.”