Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart took responsibility for the New York Knicks' loss to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. After the 115-111 defeat that cut the series to 2-1, both players pointed to poor execution, turnovers, and a rough third-quarter start as key factors in snapping the Knicks' 13-game winning streak.
Q. For either of you. Mike came in and said there was some stagnation and maybe they struck first. I suppose, does that surprise you? And do you feel that's how it happened, that they came out a bit more aggressive early on?
JOSH HART: No, it doesn't surprise us at all. They were down 2-0. You knew they were going to come out with a sense of urgency and desperation. We should have started the game better. We should have started the third quarter better.
So, you know, back to 0-0. We're going to learn tomorrow, watch film and get ready for Wednesday's game.
Q. Mike also talked about the officiating. I'm not trying to get you fined, but how is it during the course of the game to deal with that frustration, especially in an environment with so much pressure, and with Mike talking about the difference in free throws in the second half?
KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: That didn't cost us the game. We turned the ball over. We didn't execute. We didn't do what got us 13 straight wins. That's how you lose a game. We didn't do what we've been doing for 13 games. We decided to do something different, and that's not going to work. Turning the ball over is a clear indication of how you're going to lose a game, especially in the playoffs.
Q. Do you feel that, obviously, there was a lot of anticipation for the game, that the crowd lived up to what you expected? And with the extra attention, security, and so on that surrounded the game, were you concerned that could have any effect on your performance?
KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: Of course our fans were there. They always are. Of course they lived up to expectations. They exceeded them. We didn't do our job to give them something to cheer about during the game. None of that has anything to do with us stepping on that court, executing and being disciplined in our game plan and our focus.
Q. You went 45 days without a loss. Does this loss here, the first Finals game at home since 1999, make you feel upset, angry or especially frustrated about losing this game?
KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: It's disappointing when you lose. You always want to step on the court and win. It's always about being in the present. Being in the position we were in at halftime, coming out in the third the way we did and not finding a way to win the game, obviously, is disappointing. It's always going to be disappointing when we lose. We're competitors. Every single one of us in the locker room wants to win every time we step on the court.
Of course, we're going to be disappointed. But we're also professionals and we have to understand that tomorrow we need to get back to work, get back to the drawing board and prepare for Game 4.
Q. What did you take from the shots down the stretch? Or was there something the other team was doing to make it difficult for you to get a run going and come back?
JOSH HART: There were a couple of shots that didn't fall that were good looks. I feel like we didn't get enough stops during the game. If we get stops, we play our basketball, and you don't worry about makes and misses.
Like I said, we have to learn from this, watch it tomorrow. At the end of the day, whether we won or lost, we were going to do the same thing. Watch it tomorrow, improve and get ready for Wednesday's game.
Same mentality.