It never gets old when Knicks fans invade road arenas to root for the visiting team.
On Wednesday, it happened again to the poor 76cheesteaks.
On Alvarado’s fire and urgency:
“His quickness, his ability to shoot the basketball, his ability to pass and make plays without getting knocked off his body, is going to be huge. But he had a great offensive game for us and we need that fire from him. We need that passion. We need that sense of urgency, and it sparks us.”
On Alvarado’s impact vs. Philadelphia:
“He was really, really good for us. He ignited us in many different ways.”
On Knicks’ knack for sharing the basketball:
“I’m blown away with our guys’ ability to share the basketball with one another. A lot of good playmakers, a lot of good passers, so to see that was a lot of fun.”
On the team’s assist-to-basket ratio against the Sixers:
“I don’t know if I’ve seen this before. We had 48 baskets and 41 assists. So unbelievable night in that regard.”
On responding to adversity:
“They are a resilient group of guys. We’re not going to go up the whole year. Everybody expects us to go up the whole year and win it all. But this is a process. We’re going to up, we’re going to take a step backwards, we’re going to figure it out. That’s why there’s coaching, that’s why there’s practice, that’s why there’s shootaround. That’s why we have those guys in the locker room we have figured out and just go out and play the next game and figure out if you can play better the next game and that’s what our guys did.”
On seasonal fluctuations:
“We’re not going to do this the whole year. Everyone wants us and expects us to do this the whole year and go win it all. But this is a process. We’re going to do this, take a step backwards, and when we do, we’ll figure it out. That’s why there’s coaching, that’s why there’s practicing, that’s why there are shootarounds and coaching and guys that figure it out and play a little better the next time than you did the last time.”
On All-Star recognition vs. resting:
“It’s kind of mixed emotions thing. As a coach you do want your guys to get recognized for the stuff they do on the floor. Even like in the summertime, come Olympic time, European Cup time, this Cup time or that Cup time, you want your guys to play on any stage they can and get recognition and success. But there’s always a part of you, too, like, let this guy get some rest, too, or that guy get some rest and hopefully he takes it a little easy. So again, I get pulled and tugged in both directions. At the end of the day you want as much individual recognition as possible for your guys as they can get.”
On staying focused during the pre-ASW-break:
“It’s mixed … I know these guys are thinking about it. If they’re thinking about it everybody else is to a certain degree is and hopefully you can lock in just long enough to figure out how to get a win.”
On making a statement with a brutal blowout after the OT loss to Indiana:
“We knew this was a big game for us in the standings so we just had to come back. The game yesterday didn’t go our way, but we had to be us come back and get a win today.”
On his confrontation with Trendon Watford:
“He did a hard foul, but I think he did a little extra with the staring. I’m just not gonna go for none of that. It was just in the moment. That’s when I’m at my best, I guess, getting a little active. It worked out in my favor.”
On his career-tying shooting night:
“I had it rolling. I didn’t know I had eight [3s] — I should’ve made one more so I could break my tie.”
On the fan support, even on the road:
“I see the fans, their energy is unmatched. They show their support, they’re gonna use their voice and it gets me going, so I’m gonna do the same energy back for them.”
On finding his rhythm with the Knicks:
“I always thought I was a great shooter, a good shooter. Obviously, it’s getting better and I’m going to keep getting better. I’m just getting in rhythm with the system, the plays, the coaching staff. But they’re doing a great job making it super easy. Today went my way.”
On embracing his identity:
“As soon as I got here, that was the first thing they probably said to me: ‘We need you to be who you are, do not change that.’ This is Game 3 for me, but I’m slowly getting into it.”
On Alvarado’s enforcer role:
“That’s what we need. That’s what we want from him. Obviously that toughness, ability to help us get organized, ability to knock down shots. And defensively bring energy, bring physicality, get in the passing lanes, those kinds of things. That’s why he’s here.”
On Knicks’ fans takeover in Philly:
“It’s fun. Kind of getting used to it now. Everywhere on the East Coast it’s really Knick fans coming out and showing love. Boston is tough obviously. Everywhere else we feel like we always have the majority of the fans on the East Coast. Shoutout to them. They come and show love and we appreciate it.”
On his All-Star break mindset:
“I’m checked out now. I’ve got my wine right here. I’m living my best life.”
“That’s what we need. That’s what we want from him. Obviously that toughness, ability to help us get organized, ability to knock down shots. And defensively bring energy, bring physicality, get in the passing lanes, those kind of things. That’s why he’s here. Honestly, I didn’t realize he had that many shots, that many threes, but it shows what he’s capable of. We’re going to need him a lot down the stretch.”
On Alvarado joining the Knicks:
“To see that guy with the same jersey as you is something special. We’re glad to have him.”
On Alvarado’s performance:
“He was that Jose Alvarado you see on TV all the time.”