NBA Finals: Dylan Harper Stays Confident After Knicks Game 1 Win: "We'll Have Even More Hunger"

Dylan Harper addressed the San Antonio Spurs' loss to the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the NBA Finals with a message of calm, confidence, and competitive pride. The young wing acknowledged Jalen Brunson's impact, admitted the Spurs let controllable details slip away, and insisted the team will arrive at Game 2 with more hunger after the 1-0 deficit.

Q. You've faced many aggressive point guards attacking downhill in this postseason. What does Jalen have, what makes him different? What did he do tonight?

DYLAN HARPER: Yeah, I mean, I think Jalen is a great point guard, an All-Star point guard. He's going to get to his spots regardless. It's kind of the way he chooses his angles, how he gets to his places. He probably does it better than anyone.

On our end, we have to stick to our game plan, to what we've always maintained defensively. We'll be better in the next game.

Q. You won Game 1 against Oklahoma City Thunder. What do you think changes in the series dynamic when the visiting team wins?

DYLAN HARPER: Yeah, I mean, obviously you want to win every game. Sometimes things don't go the way you want. Obviously we won Game 1 against OKC, but they won the next two. That really didn't matter.

For us it's more about playing the long game, being consistent in our habits. I think that's the most important part. I feel like if we stay consistent, everything is going to work out.

Q. Do you think you got a bit fatigued in the fourth quarter? You were coming off a great series against Oklahoma City. The Knicks were fresh.

DYLAN HARPER: I think both teams were fatigued, honestly. I feel like they just executed a little better. They executed their plays. At the end of the game, like I just said, they just executed.

Today was more like a back-and-forth race. I think the energy was high. I feel like everybody was running up and down the court. I think both teams were fatigued.

Q. What can you do to correct that heading into Game 2?

DYLAN HARPER: We're going to watch the film. There are a lot of controllable things on our end. I don't feel like we demanded ourselves at the highest level. I think we let a lot of those things slip away. We're going to be better, we're going to respond. We just have to keep staying positive.

Q. Did they teach you something different in the second half after you had such a strong first half?

DYLAN HARPER: It was pretty much the same. I think for me, I just have to keep being aggressive. I have to keep stepping on the gas.

But I feel like it was more or less the same. I think some of our shots didn't fall and some of their shots did.

Q. Victor said he doesn't blame himself for anything. That he's not worried about anything. How does it make you feel as a team that he has that confidence heading into what's coming?

DYLAN HARPER: Yeah, I think we all have confidence. I feel like that's kind of what he is. He never backs down from the moment. He always steps up and faces it.

We have confidence too. But we're coming away with a thorn in our side from this game we just lost. You never want to lose. I think heading into the next game, we're going to have even more hunger, we're going to keep improving.