Knicks Bulletin: ‘This team is gritty. They find a way to win. They never quit’

New York stomped the Heat in Miami and it was all because of the warm weather.

The Knicks gave Miami no chance on Wednesday and beat the Heat 116-107 to kick off their four-game road trip with a win helping New York even their early-season record to a 2-2 and .500.

Facing four teams solidly in contention to win the title next June, the Knicks put up a strong enough run of results right before the schedule softens a bit with matchups against Detroit, Houston, and Atlanta.

Here is everything you need to know about what Coach Thibs and a bunch of Knickerbocker and Heat players said before and after the game.

Tom Thibodeau

On OG Anunoby’s impact:

“The box score doesn’t reflect the things that he did in that game… It’s great to have a player like OG.”

On Karl-Anthony Towns’ scoring versatility and steady adaptation:

“I love his approach because he’s not forcing anything. He’s letting the game come to him. I want him to be assertive and everything, but I want him to let the game come to him.

“He has the skill set of a guard in a center’s body. He’s a very gifted scorer, as you saw tonight. He can hurt you a lot of different ways.”

“We got Karl going inside and then our volume of threes went way up.”

On Jalen Brunson’s playmaking:

“He read the game well and his playmaking was very effective.”

On using Jericho Sims over Ariel Hukporti against Miami:

“We’re looking at different things. Jericho has done a really good job. Ariel has done a good job. We want to get a look at all our players and we’re doing that.

“It’s not about an individual player, it’s about the team. And prioritizing winning. Play to win. So wherever you can contribute to winning, that’s where I want the focus to lie.”

On Josh Hart’s reliability and dedication:

“That’s what you love about him. There’s no other agenda other than winning. So whatever you ask him to do he’s going to give you everything he has.”

On increasing the team’s long-range volume while keeping the efficiency up:

“We’re a work in progress, it’s going to take some time. But we’re shooting a good percentage. I want us taking good shots.

“I think we’re third in offensive rating. We’re shooting a very high field-goal percentage. We’re shooting a high percentage from 3. But the volume needs to go up so we share in that responsibility.”

Karl-Anthony Towns

On why he always performs well in Miami and his current mindset:

“The weather. I was in Minnesota. It’s cold. It’s hot here. I like that.

“My motivation is to win games, to win basketball games. So that’s all I’m really worried about. Trying to get one in the left column. We’ve gone loss, win, loss, so trying to make it a win tonight.”

On flexing his muscles in front of Jimmy Buckets and the Heat bench at the end of Wednesday’s game:

“I just wanted to win. I wasn’t even thinking honestly, I just didn’t realize the time, either. I was just trying to make the winning play so you get to those last minutes, you kind of get lost in the game.

“And I definitely did.”

On dropping 44 points in the win over the Heat:

“Big game for us today, I just wanted to do whatever I can to help us win. I was just being aggressive out there and my teammates found me in great spots.

“Thanks to them and the coaching staff for putting me in great spots to utilize my talent, I just wanted to repay both of their trust in me.”

On what stands out about the Knicks:

“I’ve been watching from far away, this team is gritty. They find a way to win and they never quit. So we’re just bringing that New York mentality every single night, that’s something that when you’re playing in it you get to recognize and be part of that culture.”

On the Knicks’ challenging schedule to start the season:

“It’s good for us. Play the best of the best. You play the game of basketball, especially in the NBA, to play the best players in the world.

“Last year is a totally different year than this year. Everyone’s started at 0–0. It doesn’t matter where you finished last year. It’s about where you’re going to finish this year. So for us, you get to play some really good teams, and really get to test yourselves and where you’re at.”

On his relationship with Jimmy Butler and what happened in Minnesota:

“I’m here in New York. That’s all I’m thinking about right now. I’m a Knick. You’re bringing up Minnesota. I’m not a Timberwolf anymore. I’m a Knick. That’s all I’m worried about. My time as a Knick.”

On his past issues with Tom Thibodeau:

“I mean, that was years and years ago. We are totally different men. So it’s cool to be in this spot in our lives together.”

Jalen Brunson

On Towns’ performance and the team’s offensive approach:

“I think we did a good job of just feeding the hot hand. He was hot and we were just playing through him. He was making the right reads and when they doubled he either got fouled or he made the right play. We trust him. We trust him.”

Josh Hart

On injury-managing against the Cavs to come back stronger in Miami:

“(The leg) started swelling up then. It was just one of those things where I didn’t want to be too prideful and be like, ‘No I’m good, I can play,’ and then not be able to be myself or defend or rebound at the level I do, especially at the end of the game.

“I made that decision to ask out and have [sub Miles McBride] stay in the game and finish that game and trust them.”

Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat Player)

On Jimmy Butler’s competitive nature and facing KAT:

“I don’t think he gets fired up for matchups. I think if they start it, that’s when it starts. Or he’ll feel like—he’ll see something, and he just digs.

“Listen, I just think it’s just in a game, he’ll see body language, something small and just goes with it.”

On the Knicks’ roster upgrades and title-winning expectations:

“I think they’re still trying to improve. I think they’re set on that stage of getting over that hump, trying to get to the promised land just like we are.

“I thought they was going to be the Nova Knicks until they got rid of Donte [DiVincenzo]. I mean, they’re still the Nova Knicks, they still got three of them on the team.

“You know they’re trying to get to the promised land like I said, when you see moves like that you understand they don’t want to be booted in the conference finals or the second round anymore. They’re trying to get to the Finals.”

On the Heat defensive focus and strategy ahead of the Knicks game:

“Trust our schemes, trust what we do. We come up with great plans on that side of the ball, so for us, it’s getting stops, making the shots difficult, and running in transition.”

Erik Spoelstra (Miami Heat Head Coach)

On the Knicks:

“I don’t know if we held Brunson down in the first half.

“It’s been well documented that Towns hadn’t gotten going, and Brunson said he’s going to take responsibility to get him the ball—and he did.

“Very clear they were trying to get him the ball and Brunson was facilitating. When he needed to make plays in the second half he was able to.”

Tyler Herro (Miami Heat Player)

On Karl-Anthony Towns’ diverse skill set:

“He’s a handful. He’s a 7-footer who can put it on the floor, make deep threes, obviously a handful in the paint.”

On his jacket:

“It’s an ‘M’ and a ‘Y,’ it’s not an “NY,” just so y’all know.”

Jimmy Butler (Miami Heat Player)

On the team’s defensive performance against the Knicks:

“I don’t believe we made too many people’s shots difficult tonight.

“We were lazy on the defensive rebounding. I would say that’s about it.”

James Dolan