New York Knicks' Head Coach Mike Brown - Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images
While the New York Knicks fans had to be excited with the 119-111 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers last Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden, it was surely welcomed by newly hired head coach Mike Brown.
Even without two of their best players in center Mitchell Robinson (left ankle) and guard Josh Hart (back spasms), the Knicks were ready to come out fighting to score the victory.
How did the New York Knicks achieve their First Win?
While Jalen Brunson scored his usual 23 points, OG Anunoby tallied 24 points with 14 rebounds, helping the Knicks defeat the Cavs to go to (1-0) on the season.
Karl-Anthony Towns totaled 19 points and 11 rebounds, playing more minutes for the injured Robinson. The New York Knicks had a 17-point lead at halftime.
Then, they fell behind due to a comeback engineered by Cavs superstar Donovan Mitchell. But the resilient Knicks won the game after going on a 14-0 run at the start of the fourth quarter.
Mitchell led the Cavs with 31 points, and 21 of them came in the third. The Cavs finished 64-18 in the 2024-25 regular season.
Nonetheless, this matchup is likely to feature the top 2 teams in the Eastern Conference, though an 82-game season is a marathon, not a sprint.
How Mike Brown took over as the Head Coach
The Knicks fired former head coach Tom Thibodeau, regardless of his leading the team to the Eastern Conference finals last season. While Thibodeau is responsible for rebuilding the Knicks into a powerhouse, he was flawed in that he rarely used his bench.
Plus, this is a players-run league, and older coaches like Thibodeau can wear out their welcome pretty quickly. The next coach they were looking for was someone who had experience winning championships while also focusing on player development.
After Jason Kidd returned to the Mavs, the Knicks landed 2x Coach of the Year Mike Brown to be their guy.
The 55-year-old was a student of the game, winning four NBA titles as an assistant and even acting as the head coach for Steve Kerr during the Golden State Warriors’ dynasty.
What makes Brown different from Thibodeau is that he’s not going to win a ton of games with a loaded roster; he’s actually going to care more about playing his bench and focus on developing the players on the roster to win games.
He also wants them to play at a faster pace and for Brunson to set up pick-and-roll plays rather than just dribble down the court with the ball in his hands.
The Brown hire is the latest trend the Knicks are trying to follow in terms of the type of head coach they want and need to finally win an NBA Championship for the first time since 1973.
Well, it’s just one game, but it’s already a good start for the Knicks in the “Mike Brown Era”. Now, if they can improve throughout the whole season, this is a team that could be hard to play against by the end of the year and also throughout the playoffs.
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