Knicks Bulletin: “I had a decision to make and I made a decision.”

The New York Knicks just refuse to lose. That’s why the Manhattanites hosted a bunch of Hoosiers on Wednesday for Game 2 of the second-round series between Indiana and New York and beat them on one leg.

Not everything was rosy for the Knicks, mind you, as Jalen Brunson missed ample time because making his Willis Reedian return to lift New York, and OG Anunoby will probably miss one or two or more games following his hamstring injury.

Anyway, it’s time to celebrate the Knicks as they lead the Pacers 2-0 entering Game 3. Here’s all you need to know, straight from the raw sources.

Tom Thibodeau

On Jalen Brunson’s approach to the game...

“The thing that’s impressive, it’s always within the context of winning and his teammates and that’s always the most important thing to him. And I love his mentality because his mentality is that he’s not satisfied.”

“He’s a great leader, so I think the players all have respect for that, when a guy goes out and is willing to give whatever he has, and so that says a lot about him.”

On Precious Achiuwa’s contributions in Game 2 getting 28 minutes of playing time off the pine...

“Yeah, it was huge. I thought he played very well in the fourth quarter. We need that from him.”

On OG Anunoby’s best postseason game to date and his injury status...

“I thought he was super-aggressive. He played really, really well, I thought at the end of Game 1 with his defensive activity. And he picked up right where he left off, and I thought that was huge for us and I thought that’s what got us off to a good start.”

“It was huge. Huge. The way he got [his points], too, it was a little bit of everything. He made a nice play to Isaiah, a dribble handoff, we got a dunk I think off that. He ran the floor, hit threes, he was good in transition, he put in on the floor, he attacked the rim, he was decisive. All positive things.”

“I’m not sure [his status]. I haven’t talked to medical yet.”

Josh Hart

On playing 48 minutes in back-to-back games without the need of a break...

“Thibs always asks me if I need one, and I always tell him no. As a competitor, you want to play, you want to play every second. So that’s something that I want to do.”

On what made it possible for the Knicks to win Game 2...

“I think shot-making and just sharing the ball. I don’t think we really took bad shots.”

On how he helped Reggie Miller understand MSG’s chants...

“I just wanted to make sure he heard what the fans were chanting.”

“I think they said f–k you. I didn’t know if you heard them though.”

On his and the Knicks' confidence in beating the Pacers and advancing to the ECF...

“Just win. Nothing else. All of our games last series were close. This is a really tough team and I anticipate it being a really tough series with close games. We just have to build off that and can’t be happy with getting one win. I think we’re all confident in our abilities. But we can’t rely on that.”

On Brunson’s epic return at the half...

“All right, Willis.”

Jalen Brunson

On his return to Game 2 after getting to the locker room early with an injury...

“I had a decision to make and I made a decision.”

On the MSG reaction after returning to the floor for warmups ahead of the third quarter...

“It was really cool to hear, but I just knew that I had to get my mind in the right place to figure out how I was going to attack the second half.”

On his status heading into Game 3...

“I’m all good. And that’s it.”

On how they are approaching the second-round series against the Pacers...

“We just find a way. No matter what it is, we just give each other confidence to make sure we can get the job done. So it’s nothing in particular. It’s just the group of guys we have, we give each other confidence and move forward together.”

”You develop it over your career, so it becomes instinctual. So it’s just having the force and the confidence to know that you’re going to continue to play. Just try and do the right things. No matter what the situation is, we know we’re going into it with a fair mind. Just try to play basketball the right way and win games.”

On getting mentioned along with some true legends of the game amid his postseason exploits...

“I understand what’s going on, so it’s definitely obviously pretty cool, and it makes it better to know that it comes off a win most importantly, but honestly no matter what the situation was, whether it was positive or negative, I have to come back and be better.”

Donte DiVincenzo

On Brunson somehow returning to Game 2 with an injured foot and fighting through the second half willing the Knicks to victory...

“He’s a warrior. That’s all I got. There was no doubt in my mind that he’ll be back. All season long, no matter what is thrown at him, injury bug or whatever, he always bounces back. And we knew the severity of the game and everything, so we knew, everybody had confidence he was coming back.”

On Brunson’s MVP-caliber season...

“He knows what he’s doing but he doesn’t address it. He’s just trying to get better every single day. Not being him and looking on the outside, I love it. I sure as hell love it. I will celebrate every day of the week. That’s who he is as a person, not just a basketball player.”

“I’m so proud of him, just knowing what type of person he is. He doesn’t take praise and accolades and all that stuff. He doesn’t take it well. He always knows there’s going to be more doubters, more things to improve on. That’s his beauty as a person.”

On what makes Brunson great...

“I say this all year, Jalen ends up with 40-something points, but he makes the right play. The right play [at the end of Game 1] was they’re coming to double and he kicks it.”

“He’s not a guy that says I’ve got 40, I’ve got to will this team and I have to do it solely with just my points. He knows his opportunities, when to be aggressive and take over, and he also knows the situation when ‘OK, they’re sending bodies at me. Somebody is open and this is the right play.’ He lives with the results.”

“Look at Game 6 (against the 76ers), what he did with Josh. They sent two at him and he trusts Josh to make that shot. It’s something that I’ve heard. I watched. I wasn’t in the locker room last year. That really stuck with him and you can see it all season long.”

”He just makes the right play over and over again.”

Precious Achiuwa

On how he managed to stay ready to slide into the rotation midway through the playoffs...

“I want to give my teammates credit, they do a great job. We play pickup sometimes, that helps me a lot, stay in game shape, stay in rhythm, stuff like that. A lot of credit to my teammates for backing me with that.”

On the Knicks mantra...

“I don’t know what the situation is [with Anunoby] as of right now. That’s between him and the medical and the team. But there’s always a next-man up mentality on this team. We have a bunch of winners who are going to come in and contribute in any way they can.”

On Brunson’s Reedian Game 2...

“We needed him.”

On New York’s depth helping the team lead the second-round series 2-0 even with a bunch of players out injured...

“It just goes to show you it’s a bunch of dogs on the team.”

“Guys were locked in, ready to come in and play their parts for the most part. There’s a lot of guys that love to win on the team, so you can’t ask for nothing more than that. Once you have a bunch of guys that enjoy winning, and are willing to do whatever it takes to win a basketball game, you can go far with that.”

On how he’s approaching the playoffs and accepting his role in the team...

“I just think it’s next man up. My thing, I got to continue to go out there and play the right way, play winning basketball. We’ve shown that in the past. Just got to continue to go out there and do what we need to win basketball games.”

Rick Carlisle (Indiana Pacers Head Coach)

On one of many calls reversed by the officials in a Game 2 that surely was cooked by the NBA so the big-market Knicks could get the win...

“One [referee] just said he didn’t double dribble, but it looked like [Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau] went out there and argued and they changed it. That’s what it looked like. I can only go by what I saw. That’s small beans compared to everything else.”

“Small market teams deserve an equal shot. They deserve a fair shot no matter where they’re playing.”

On not complaining about the officiating but inadvertently doing so...

“I’m always talking to our guys about not making it about the officials. But we deserve a fair shot. There’s not a consistent balance and that’s disappointing.”

Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers Player)

On Josh Hart’s rebounding prowess...

“We just got to match [his energy] and I think that’s the biggest thing. Obviously, you’ve got to rebound and he’s probably one of the best rebounding wings in the league, if not the best rebounding wing in the league.”

Aaron Nesmith (Indiana Pacers Player)

On Josh Hart never running out of gas...

“He’s full effort for 48 minutes. We gotta find where he’s at. We gotta be able to box him out. We gotta keep him out of transition. We just gotta do a better job on him as a whole.”

Obi Toppin (Indiana Pacers Player)

On Josh Hart’s winning mentality...

“He’s a dog. He does everything he needs to do for that team. But what we need to do is lock into everything Coach has been telling us what to do to stop those guys who are impacting the game.”

Charles Barkley (Former NBA Player)

On the Knicks outlook for the remainder of the playoffs...

“People think we care who wins. If the Knicks win that’ll be good. I don’t care who wins. but I’ll tell you what: I would love to see they ass get stomped by the Celtics, that’d be great. I’m just saying, whoever wins this series gonna get stomped by the Celtics.”

On what makes New York City great...

“New Yorkers y’all deserve it. Y’all think y’all the greatest thing since sliced bread. Y’all ain’t that good in New York, come on man, you’re overrated.”

“Just ‘cause y’all make good pizza and good bagels... I ain’t gonna say nothing bad about the street meat—I don’t care what kind of meat it is.”