Knicks Bulletin: ‘It’s going to be sore, but hey, I had a game to play’

A devilish New York inflicted five minutes of extra pain on Miami beating the Heat in overtime.

The Knicks are getting dangerously accustomed to play games into overtime, but as long as they keep winning those I’ll be cool with it.

New York visited Garden South on Sunday, defeated the Miami Heat 116-112, and by doing so completed their biggest comeback of the season, clearing a 19-point deficit and turning it into a four-point victory. Uh, oh, these pretenders-turned-contenders!

Here’s what Coach Thibs and a few other Knickerbockers had to say before and after yesterday’s affair.

Tom Thibodeau

On the Knicks’ 19-point comeback win against Miami:

“Obviously we didn’t want to get in a hole like we did in the first half.

“They’ve been playing really well. I thought our defense tightened up in the second half and the rebounding was really good. Then we started making shots and there were timely plays and a lot of hustle plays that really got us going.

“It was slow in the first half. We were missing open threes, and we let that take away from the intensity that we needed defensively, but I thought the second half was really good.”

On Jalen Brunson’s poise in big moments:

“The thing that’s unique about Jalen is his poise under pressure and he can beat you a lot of different ways.

“He can beat you with a shot, he can beat you off the dribble, he can beat you with a finish, he can beat you with a pass. He also understands who is going well.

“Are they sending two at him? Are they sending three at him? Are they collapsing? What’s the right play? And he’s great at it.”

On his decision to bench Mikal Bridges at the end of the fourth quarter and through OT:

“Just help the team any way you can.

“And I think that goes a long way. Some nights it may be somebody else’s night. And that’s the guy we got to ride. If we’re putting the team first, that’s what we got to do.”

On Bridges’ attitude in accepting the decision for the better of the team:

“That’s what you love about the team. Whoever has got it going, we’re going to ride those guys a little bit more.

“The most important thing is the team winning. And Mikal is fully engaged in the team and he does a lot of the dirty work for us and it’s much appreciated.”

On Matt Ryan’s contributions to the Knicks and the FO plans for roster adjustments:

“I thought he did a really good job for us. Hard worker.

“You’re always looking at ways to improve the team. [Team president Leon Rose] and his staff, that’s what they do. And then we’re obviously very pleased with him and wish him well.”

On how the Knicks need to approach the season one game at a time:

“That’s the NBA. You don’t want to get high. You don’t want to get too low. You focus on what’s in front of you.

“The most important thing is finding a way to win and in this league every team is capable of beating you. So just keep improving every day. That’s our goal. We have a daily goal to improve. So whatever that is, focus on that, knowing that you have to play your best at the end.

“No one is winning a championship today. It’s all the things that you’re doing each and every day to get you there to give yourselves the best chance to win. And that’s what it takes.

“There’s a heavy price to pay for winning, and you have to do it every day. There’s no shortcuts to it.”

Jalen Brunson

On Thibodeau’s halftime speech fueling the Knicks comeback on Sunday:

“It doesn’t matter what the score is. I mean, we’re gonna keep fighting no matter what. I don’t really care what clicks. That’s what we’re gonna do.

“We’re capable as a team, and Thibs knows that. He just had to remind us. When we get to a slow start, obviously, we got to come back with some fire. We decided to do that a little late, but we came out of it with a win.”

On his inherent ability to just win games:

“I’m gonna find a way to help this team win. It doesn’t matter.

“We’ve gotta come out and play Knicks basketball. We’ve gotta fight. We didn’t do that in the first half. They got the best of us.”

On injuries affecting Anunoby and Hart’s shooting but not stopping them:

“It may have something to do with it. I think you’re always trying to find your way back into things.

“We have the utmost confidence in each other. Regardless of what’s going on we’ve got to give each other confidence when it comes to stuff like that.”

On Ariel Hukporti’s injury:

“It’s unfortunate to see that. Obviously we’re going to pray for a speedy recovery, just make sure his mental is right, his mentality is right.

“I’ve been saying this all year, I’m really proud of him with what he’s been able to do in a short time. Can’t wait to have him back as soon as possible.”

Josh Hart

On playing through a hard fall on Sunday:

“It was obviously a hard fall. Then, I didn’t want to be soft, so I got up and kept playing and continued to be aggressive.

“It’s going to be sore [Monday], but hey man, I had a game to play.”

Mitchell Robinson

On logging minutes in two games for the first time in nearly a year:

“It’s coming along. Just taking time. First game, as y’all saw, tired as hell. Second game, not so much. But still a little bit.

“That’s what’s going to happen when you miss 10 months playing ball.”

On his diving for loose balls:

“Get back to used what I’ve been doing. I’ve been doing that for a while. Not afraid to get down and dirty.

“Sometimes, you got to do it.”

On playing under a pitch count for now:

“It was 18 minutes for Friday’s game (but ended playing 12). I think each week it goes up more and more.

“It is [frustrating] because it’s hard to get a rhythm.”

On his return and smooth dunk in his first game back:

“You saw that, huh? It was smooth. I mean, that’s something we’ve been working on through the whole rehab process. I felt comfortable doing it.”

On his excitement to be back:

“I wasn’t nervous. But the urge to get back out there was there.”

Miles McBride

On what has helped him thrive this season:

“Obviously, you have to be on the court to showcase what you have. So I feel like I was being held back a little bit through those injuries. Just tough timing.

“Then, finding my rhythm on the court, ways I can contribute… It’s not always about scoring. It’s about making plays. So as long as I can showcase my abilities, I have a great chance of doing that.”

Erik Spoelstra (Miami Heat Head Coach)

On Jalen Brunson’s impact on the game:

“He’s a tough guy to game-plan against because he’s so clever. And he’s relentless. And he’s not going to stop. If you happen to get a stop on him on any given possession, it’s not like the next possession he’s going to ease up at all. He has great stamina to do what he does.

“He’s second in the league in drives, second in the league in fouls drawn. You have to be pretty persistent to do that, especially for a player with his size.

“[Brunson] is a winning player, he’s (got) a winning personality.”

On the challenge of facing the Knicks:

“When you’re dealing with the Knicks, the thing you have to adjust to more than anything is they’re a great offensive team.

“They play with significant pace, not only in transition but in the halfcourt with good off-ball cutting that you have to keep awareness of throughout an entire possession.”