The New York Knicks pulled away late to beat the Sacramento Kings 103-87 on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, and head coach Mike Brown centered his postgame remarks on defense, discipline, and decision-making.
“Ugly game, but I thought in the first half, you know, we didn’t do a good job of taking care of the basketball,” Brown said after earning his first win against Sacramento since being dismissed by the franchise last season.
The Knicks committed 21 turnovers and scored just 72 points through three quarters. Brown acknowledged the offensive issues but repeatedly pointed to defensive consistency as the foundation of the win.
“Our defense stayed pretty solid throughout the game, especially in the second half,” Brown said. “They’re a team that can score the basketball at a pretty high clip.”
Sacramento leaned heavily on DeMar DeRozan, who finished with 34 points, but New York adjusted after halftime. Brown highlighted one key area that changed the outcome.
“I thought in the second half we did a good job of not sending him to the free throw line,” Brown said. “That was one of the biggest differences in the game.”
The Knicks held the Kings to 15 points in the fourth quarter, turning a 72-72 tie into a runaway finish. Brown credited Mikal Bridges for his work on DeRozan late.
“You’re not going to stop a guy like DeMar, but you hopefully try to slow him down a little bit,” Brown said. “I thought Mikal defensively was really good with his physicality and not fouling while he was being physical.”
Brown added, “Mikal made him work for every shot that he attempted in that in that fourth quarter.”
Mitchell Robinson also received strong praise after anchoring the interior. The Knicks held Sacramento to 40 percent shooting and 17 percent from three.
“Our defensive player of the game who impacted it at a high level throughout the the entire game was Mitch,” Brown said. “Mitch was really good for us on that end of the floor.”
Brown explained that a nontraditional lineup helped break the game open, even though it had limited time together this season.
“It’s just just, you know, during the flow of the game, you know, you find a group of of players that you know that you feel playing well together and you roll with it as long as you can,” he said.
Despite the comfortable final margin, Brown remained focused on execution. “We scored 103 points. We had 21 turnovers,” he said. “We didn’t do a great job taking care of basketball.”
He repeatedly emphasized decision-making with the ball. “When the ball hits your hands, if you’re open, shoot it,” Brown said. “Just make the decision and go with it.”
Brown also addressed how the team survived mistakes offensively. “When you can bring it on that end of the floor you’re going to be able to survive some of the mistakes that you’re making offensively,” he said.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 28 points, while Bridges added 18 and Karl-Anthony Towns posted 17 points and 11 rebounds. New York improved to 28-18 and won its third straight.
The Knicks visit Toronto on Wednesday, while the Kings head to Philadelphia on Thursday.
