The New York Knicks completed a historic 29-point comeback in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, edging the San Antonio Spurs 107-106 at Madison Square Garden, and head coach Mike Brown summarized the night by saying, “It was a good win by our guys obviously.”
Brown emphasized the collective effort behind the result, adding, “I applaud all of them cuz we had different guys step up different times.” He highlighted rotation contributions, noting, “You know you take a guy like Jeremy Sochan we threw him in the game and he gave us four to five great minutes.”
He also credited bench readiness in key moments, saying, “Ariel Haukporti. You know, KAT picks up fouls. Mitch is gassed. We throw Ariel out there. Ariel’s minutes were unbelievable.”
A major turning point came from OG Anunoby, whom Brown challenged before the game. “I told OG, as big, as strong, as athletic as he is, he’s got to be a monster on the offensive glass tonight,” Brown said. “That was a huge offensive rebound. Huge offensive rebound.” He added, “That has to be the most iconic shot in the history of New York basketball.”
Brown also praised Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson for carrying stretches of the game. “KAT, he picked up those early fouls, was on the bench most of the half and he had a whale of a fourth quarter, a well of a second half for us. He was unbelievable,” Brown said. On Brunson, he added, “Jalen, he’s the MVP candidate. I say the same thing about Jalen every game. He does what an MVP is supposed to do and he did it again tonight.”
The coach reserved strong praise for Jose Alvarado’s impact on both ends. “Jose was unbelievable tonight. He changed the game,” Brown said. “His speed, his ability to touch the paint… he going to make you pay.” He added, “He made some great basketball plays offensively tonight. And then he was great defensively.”
At halftime, the Knicks avoided overcorrection. “We didn’t show film,” Brown said. “We let them sit for a little bit, talk amongst themselves.” He stressed execution adjustments: “We got to do a better job of keeping the ball out the paint… We just have to get into our actions right away.”
Brown also referenced game flow mentality, saying, “You got to have a little luck in life. You got to have a little luck in sports, but you can also go make your own luck, too.” The target was clear: “Let’s cut it to around 15 to 17 going into the fourth.”
The Madison Square Garden atmosphere also played a role. Brown said, “The vibe is just hard to describe. And the energy and the crowd had a lot to do with our comeback.”
Defensively, he noted discipline rather than schematic change: “We basically kept the same game plan defensively. We just did it harder for longer stretches.”
Brown closed by pointing to resilience, saying, “We have to hit adversity because we have to see if we’re connected enough for moments like this.” He added on late-game decision-making, “It just adds to one of our huge standards, which is the overall belief in the process, but more importantly, the overall belief in each other.”
