Mike Brown was prescient. Then he was critical.
After the Knicks bludgeoned the 76ers in Game 1, fouling was the one area he specifically noted they had to improve. It seemed like a footnote in what was otherwise a historic blowout.
But in their 108-102 Game 2 win Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden, it became a central storyline. It had Brown doing math at the podium while questioning the officiating.
“We have to try to do something about it, because they’re killing us from the free-throw line in this series,” Brown said. “I know it’s only two games, but they had 34 [free throws in Game 1] and 28 tonight. So let’s add them up now. That’s 62, and we had 17 and 25, so that’s 42, right? Forty-two to 62. So, we have to do something right. I have to do a better job addressing it. Hopefully, it can get evened out a little bit more throughout the course of the series, but it’s tough to win a ballgame if you’re getting beat from the free-throw line like that versus a really good team.”
Karl-Anthony Towns was in foul trouble all night and played just 27 minutes as a result. Without Mitchell Robinson (illness), it forced Ariel Hukporti into action.
But Hukporti committed four fouls in seven minutes. That left Brown with no other choice than to go with Landry Shamet or Jeremy Sochan in small-ball lineups.
“I think it was KAT’s third or fourth foul where [Tyrese] Maxey came off him,” Brown said. “I’m not sure what’s a bump and what’s not a bump, but up by half-court, I gotta go back and I gotta watch that, because you can literally call somebody getting bumped every time down the floor if you want to. And so, for KAT to pick up his third or fourth foul that way — I can’t remember which one it was — that was tough. But we have to try to keep leading with our chest and show our hands and hope they don’t call it. They’re really, really good, especially Maxey. Man, he’s one of the quickest guys in the league with the basketball. And when he sees an angle, he’s going at you 100 miles per hour.
“And he’s good as you’re trying to turn — when you’re turning to step-slide with him, you’re exposing your shoulder and your arm, and as soon as he sees you turn and he sees your arm right here, he’s flying into you and it’s giving the officials an opportunity to call a foul.”
The Knicks had a clean injury report heading into Game 2 before Robinson was downgraded to questionable with the illness hours before tip.
He warmed up like normal and was considered a game-time decision.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
