New York Knicks coach Mike Brown did not hide his frustration after Monday night’s 115-111 loss to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. While Brown repeatedly credited the Spurs for their performance, he spent much of his postgame press conference questioning the free-throw disparity that emerged in the second half.
San Antonio earned a 24-8 advantage in free-throw attempts after halftime, helping cut New York’s series lead to 2-1. The Spurs were 25-for-32 from the foul line overall, while the Knicks went 18-for-22.
“First of all, I want to make sure I get something clear,” Brown said. “Coach Mitch Johnson and the Spurs, they won the game tonight. They came and took the game. But I will say this, I never thought I’d be in the NBA Finals and see a team get 24 free throw attempts in the second half to another team’s eight.”
Brown emphasized several times that he was not taking credit away from San Antonio, which was led by Victor Wembanyama’s 32 points and Stephon Castle’s 23.
“San Antonio is a great team. They’re a great team,” Brown said. “Having said that, again, San Antonio won the game. I’m giving their head coach and their players a lot of credit. They played great. Stephon Castle played great. I’d go down the line. Fox hit a big shot late.”
Still, Brown remained puzzled by the officiating.
“Maybe we were fouling. Maybe we were fouling,” he said. “But they fouled too. KAT gets the ball off a loose ball rebound and he shoots it and he gets whacked across the arm. There’s no foul.”
The Knicks entered the night riding a 13-game playoff winning streak and had not lost since April 23. Brown said the officiating was only one part of the story, pointing to several areas where New York fell short.
“The turnover situation, the free throw situation, and our attention to detail about keeping them out the paint and taking away the vertical threat. Not good tonight,” Brown said.
The Spurs repeatedly attacked the paint through Castle, De’Aaron Fox and Wembanyama. Brown believed his team failed to execute its defensive game plan.
“We allowed them to live in our paint,” Brown said. “Castle got to the paint at will almost every pick and roll he played. Not only that, we talked about taking away the vertical threat of Wemby. He had probably seven lob dunks because we didn’t pay attention to detail.”
Brown was equally disappointed with New York’s offensive execution. The Knicks committed 13 turnovers that led to 21 Spurs points, while San Antonio turned the ball over only eight times.
“We were about as stagnant as I’ve seen us all year,” Brown said. “We just wanted to stand and watch one guy dribble a ton. When the ball got passed, there were no quick decisions by the guy receiving the basketball.”
Despite the defeat, Brown made it clear he is not panicking with the Knicks still holding a 2-1 series advantage.
“I told our guys it’s a seven-game series for a reason,” Brown said. “They’re a great team. They’re well coached. They got an iconic player. It’s not going to be easy.”
Game 4 is set for Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. Brown expects a stronger response from his team but also hopes for a more balanced whistle.
“Hopefully they’ll see some more fouls called against them,” Brown said. “So it’s not 24 to 8 in a four-point ball game.”
