Knicks Bulletin: “My wife arguing with me. That makes me extremely tired.”

The Knicks enjoyed a happy Tuesday following their Monday triumph over Indiana to kick off the second-round series and put up an early 1-0 lead.

Both squads came back to their labs to get a few reps ahead of Wednesday’s Game 2 and we could hear from a few dudes fighting out of both sides of the court.

Here are some quotes we could snatch from the protagonists of this ECSF in the past few hours.

Tom Thibodeau

On the challenge of stopping Tyrese Haliburton...

“Haliburton—I say this all the time—he’s an offense unto himself. And then when you throw in Nembhard and McConnell, that’s a lot in terms of their versatility, but he’s pushing tempo the whole time, so he’s impacting the game in a lot of different ways. And if you leave him open, he’s gonna make, and if you’re slow to pick him up, he can make a read, so sometimes they miss good shots and you’re fortunate. So we know we’re gonna have to do a lot better.”

On Jalen Brunson leading the Knicks...

“It’s the impact that it’s having on us. They’re not empty stats. They’re stats that are impacting winning.”

On Josh Hart’s conditioning...

“I told him playing for Team USA would be beneficial. So he came into camp in great shape.”

Josh Hart

On Tom Thibodeau’s minute distribution and playing full games without sitting...

“Man, Thibs is giving me s—. He loves to give me s— for no reason. I haven’t done anything to him but just play hard.”

On his steady complaining about whatever Thibs does...

“Oh, yeah. And I complain about everything.”

On what truly drains his energy...

“My wife arguing with me. That makes me extremely tired.”

On Donte DiVincenzo’s skill set and defensive chops...

“He’s someone who is athletic, has the quickness, the speed, physicality, the height to get over screens. He [blows up] dribble hand-offs, contests shots. If we need to switch, he’s able to guard some of those bigger guys. He’s someone that, like I said, he wants those matchups. He wants to guard the best—the other team’s best guards. We need him every game. I think that really, those tough defensive assignments really get him going on the offensive side.”

Isaiah Hartenstein

On how the Knicks were able to defend Haliburton...

“I mean just being on a string. I think we can still do a lot better. But I think the biggest thing is just communication. And I think we have a lot of guys that sacrifice and play team defense.”

Donte DiVincenzo

On slowing Haliburton’s production while being his main defender in Game 1...

“Yeah, just being aggressive, not letting him kinda dictate what we’re gonna do. Just try to make it as difficult as possible. He’s an All-Star for a reason, and he’s gonna make adjustments. He’s scanning the defense, reading, so just trying to not let him have as much time to scan the defense, survey what he wants to do. But like I said, you can’t stop a player like him. He’s gonna make adjustments going into the next game. We have to be ready.”

On Brunson’s breakout season and even-better playoffs...

“He’s been doing this ever since we moved in together in college. It’s the preparation mixed with the opportunity. The opportunity presents itself to him, and he takes full advantage of it.”

“He studies the game, he knows how teams are going to adjust, and he continues to make adjustments himself. He finds different ways to be successful. He’s always had this. It’s just now, you guys are seeing it on this stage.”

Jalen Brunson

On joining a few legends of the game, including Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Jerry West, and Bernard King among others after his postseason exploits...

“Very honored to be a part of that group. But (feeling) nothing right now, really.”

Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers Player)

On falling way short of expectations in Game 1...

“I erred on the side of playmaking, and that wasn’t the right decision for me.”

On blaming his bad outing on himself and not the impressive Knicks’ defensive effort...

“They’re a good defensive team, but honestly, I look at it as a Tyrese issue more than a Knicks issue, so I’ll be better in Game 2.”

On not being worried about going down to start the second-down series against New York...

“I understand that we have an opportunity to get another one and go home 1–1, so I’m not hitting a panic button or alarm or anything. Just as a competitor, what more could you ask for than playing in the playoffs? Playing in Madison Square Garden, there’s nothing like it. So I’m embracing all of it and enjoying every second of it.”

On the Knicks defensive game and Tom Thibodeau’s playbook...

“I don’t want to take away from what they do defensively. They’re a really good defensive team with a lot of different weapons and we all know Thibs is one of the best defensive minds for the last decade plus, so it’s adjustments that I have to make and we have to make as a group and we will [in Game 2].”

On having to improve if he wants to make this a series instead of a sweep by the Knicks...

“I have to be more aggressive, be myself. I just felt like even in Game 1 of the last series [against Milwaukee], I wasn’t myself, just lack of aggression, my energy was and everything was off [Monday], so I’ll be better in Game 2.”

Rick Carlisle (Indiana Pacers Head Coach)

On Tyrese Haliburton going through some back issues...

“At this time of year everybody’s got something going and he’s working at it, doing everything he can to keep himself feeling as good as possible. I’m confident he’ll play, but it’s a concern.”

Patrick Ewing (Former NBA Player)

On Jalen Brunson’s position in Knicks’ lore...

“Jalen is a great player and I’m happy for his success. I’m happy for the success of the New York Knicks. But I try not to get involved in all that. ‘Whose better? Whose this? Is it myself? Is it Clyde? Is it Willis [Reed]?’”

Mark Jackson (Former NBA Player)

On the greatest Knick of all time (in reply to Ewing’s comment)...

“It’s you. I watched those guys and they’re great and I loved them growing up and they’re heroes of mine, but it’s you.”