June 11, 2026 • 48 mins
Jason Smith and Mike Harmon react to the Knicks wild comeback win and are joined by Ric Bucher to discuss the cultural impact if the Knicks win one more game and complete bringing New York home a Championship.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the best of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Carmon podcast. Be sure to catch us
live every weeknight from ten pm to two am Eastern
seven to eleven pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find
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Speaker 2 (00:21):
This is the best of the Jason Smith Show with
Mike Harmon on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Really interesting in Madison Square Garden, a twenty nine point
lead in the second half is a point for San Antonio.
With two minutes left to go, Jalen Brunson hits a
three to cut it to one oh four to one
oh three. Josh Hart intercepts the pass. He goes in
for a breakaway layup, and probably because he feels Steph
(00:55):
Castle running behind him, he's going up, but Steph Castle
is three feet behind me. This is gonna be a
dunk or a layup, and the Knicks have the lead,
and he just kind of lets the ball go near
the rim and it bounces off the rim in and out,
and so there are no points on that possession for
the Knicks. However, Wemby just got fouled, missed both free throws,
(01:20):
so wemb So now you're talking about one miss dunk
and then two miss free throws by Wemby. So the
Knicks have the basketball now with a minute a half
left to go down a point. It was a twenty
nine point deficit they were facing, and now they could
be on the cusp of taking the lead.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
And Jalen Brunson gives them the lead at one oh five,
one oh four. The comeback is here, Madison square card.
I can't believe people aren't running on the court right now.
It's absolute insanity. Ben's just ready to lead of the
game now, everybody you kidding. Ben still is ready to
run on the court.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Here one oh five, one oh four with a minute
plus left to go in the game, and it was
a twenty nine point lead for the San Antonio Spurs.
And that's gonna be an offensive foul call or an
out of bounds. He's out of bounds, but they're gonna
look at it because I think the Knicks want the
foul call, but the out of bounds would preclude the foul.
Steph Castle dribbling on the baseline stepped out of bounds,
(02:19):
so that's going to give the ball back to the Knicks.
He then put out a big elbow into Josh Hart
that the Knicks want a foul call on. However, they're
getting the ball out of bounds because Steph Castle stepped
out of bounds. That's going to predate that. So now
the Knicks have the ball up one with less than
a minute left to go. This is absolute chaos and
(02:41):
bedlam and a comeback that started for the Knicks in
the third quarter when the Spurs were up twenty nine
and Victor Webbin Yama gets called for an offensive foul
or gets called for a flagrant foul and the Knicks
comeback started there. All right, this is a Wemby flagrant
foul and elbow on Karl Anthony Towns. That what did
(03:03):
it rise to the level of a flagrant? You can
debate that, but clearly what Wemby had gotten away with.
Maybe the officials felt, well, you know, we put Karl
Anthony Towns on the bench with the first half basically
and gave the first half to the Spurs. Yeah, we'll
give Wemby the flagrant. Since that flagrant foul. The New
York Knicks have out. I can't do the math, but
it was eighty one fix because I'm so insane right now.
(03:24):
It was eighty one fifty two and now it's one
oh five, one oh four the Knicks with the lead.
It is the Spurs scoring twenty three points. The Knicks
run is fifty three to twenty three since the Karl
Anthony Towns flagrant foul on wemby a fifty three to
twenty three run by the Knicks. I don't know what
(03:44):
to say, Mike Carmen. I don't know what to say.
I'm gonna start drinking. I'm really I've never done that,
but I'm gonna start drinking tonight.
Speaker 4 (03:50):
I really think this might be the night where I
do it well.
Speaker 5 (03:53):
I mean, look the video cameras on. It'll be a
fun watch.
Speaker 4 (03:57):
You turn into. I don't know you even know where
you're at at this point.
Speaker 5 (04:00):
From a mental standpoint, I want to go back to
that Josh Hart little out of bounds play. That was
a more egregious hooking of a guy's arm by Josh
Hart in that corner than anything that happened on the
second file that was eventually given to Karl Anthony Towns
in the first half, and so the frustration of hey,
(04:20):
get off me was really what transpired after the out
of bounds play. But we talk about a tale of
two games at once as well as the Spurs play.
This has been an absolute meltdown and a travesty of
watching just the consistency and effort that they showed and
(04:43):
again giving the first half to the Knicks. I think
you want a little fan there. They didn't give the
half your team, then gave it away after he got
to the bench. We're still playing basketball. But for the
Spurs here, they've watched the Knicks be the aggressor, saying
there's still plenty of time on clock and playing to win,
as opposed to the Spurs playing just thinking they can
(05:06):
ride out the good vibes of a first half, And
the Knicks have been the aggressor the entire way through
that flagrant file that got called on Webbin Yaba all
that time ago. He's settled for jump shots, He's made
a couple, but the offensive set and continuity of that
first half is long in the rear view mirror. As
(05:28):
the Knicks looked, you try to close this thing out.
Speaker 4 (05:30):
I mean a.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Fifty three to twenty three run since the Wemby flagrant
fifty three. Twenty three is the run since the flagrant. Right, Like,
there's games where at that point you would think, middle
of third quarter, we're down twenty nine, it's just gonna
be bench guys extraordinaire. Right, We're gonna sit here and
we're not gonna try to do this. We're gonna save
our guys for Game five on Saturday, you know, get
(05:53):
some extra rest. But instead the Knicks, the Knicks decided, hey, yeah,
we're just gonna continue to come back. We're gonna continue
to keep playing. And that's something they didn't do in
the first half. Right, what did I say about them
in the first half when Kat went to the bench
with those with those two fouls in the first three
minutes of the game, which was ridiculously bad.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
The Knicks let that affect them. They let that affect
them with ah, man, now we don't know.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
What to do.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
We feel sorry for ourselves. And the Spurs got out
to a big run.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Now when I would expect them to say, okay, let's
you know, let's let's uh, let's just kind of put
this away.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
And get ready for Game five. No, now, we're gonna
start to come back. So when I thought they would
come back and suck it up, they didn't. And when
I thought they would quit and say let's get ready
for Saturday, then they decide to come back.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
So that's where we're at.
Speaker 5 (06:35):
The Spurs with just seven makes in the second half.
You want to go down that road, some free throws
mixed therein, But you look at the the shot chart,
just three makes from beyond the arc, with an awful
lot of empty circles along the way and some bad
possessions mixed there in. But give the Nicks all the
(06:56):
credit in the world. Is if it does go down
as it's with a one point Spurs lead after that
valiant comeback, you still look back and go, hey, that
first half was ridiculous, But at least the crowd got
excited for a while. I mean that that's been fun
to watch because every celebrity has now been named checked
and Taylor Swift's been shown more now than on any
(07:18):
Chiefs game of the last three years.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
One oh six, one oh five Spurs with the lead,
dearon Fox misses a pull up jumper and Steph Castle
swoops in for the offensive rebound, which come on, guys,
the ball's not just gonna go to you. The Knicks foul,
Josh Hart commits the foul, Castle hits both free throws.
It's a one oh six, one oh five lead right
now for the Spurs. Time out on the floor with
(07:43):
thirty seconds left to go. I don't know how to
describe this game. I really don't. This is this is
one of those games where you could do an entire
thirty for thirty just on this game, Game four of
the NBA of the nineteen twenty twenty six nineteen Look
at me, it's like forty years ago, the.
Speaker 4 (08:00):
Twenty twenty six NBA Finals.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Like I I there's there's been seventeen different stories in
this game. I mean it feels like the like the
the officials and what they did at the beginning of
the game that was like three games ago, and instead
it's been the Nicks refusing to die and coming back
here again, still a ways to go. You got thirty
seconds ago in a one point game, Spurs of retaken
the lead. But I don't know, man, Really I might
(08:22):
start drinking on the air. I really might. This might
be the night where I say, you know, I just
gotta go right to the hard stuff, not even not
even yet. Oh you want some non alcoholic No, no, no,
right to the herd stuff.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
That's kind of where's my bourbon? Yeah, that's where I
gotta go.
Speaker 5 (08:35):
I mean, look it, it's past, it's near midnight on
the East Coast. I mean, nobody would blame you after
what you watched in the first half. Yeah, I wouldn't
change it, And after watching the comeback in the second half,
I sure as hell wouldn't blame you.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Uh So, right now, there are five point seven seconds
left in the fourth quarter. It is still a one
oh six, one oh five lead for the Spurs. Time
out on the floor. The Knicks have the basketball with
just under six seconds left to go. The Knicks missed
(09:13):
a shot, Spurs went down for a layup, they missed.
Jose Alvarado got the ball, the Knicks got the ball
across half court. Now is a timeout on the floor.
Five point seven seconds left. The Knicks are down by
a point. So we're either gonna get some final second
heroics by the Knicks or the Spurs are gonna absolutely
escape and go back to San Antonio with this series
(09:37):
now tied it to a piece.
Speaker 4 (09:38):
I mean this last few seconds. It's insane.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Last sequence is the game in in in a nutshell
right there? Right like the Knicks get a bad offensive
possession and a bad shot. The Spurs go down with
a chance for a layup that can you know, not
quite clinch the game, but give them a three point lead.
They miss, and and and the Knicks get the ball
across the court.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
Block is shirt.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
I know, I know, I know, it's it's I yeah,
I don't know what to I don't even really drink.
I can't tell you last time I had a beer.
I might start tonight. I bet you maybe three in
the last six months. I want to crank after watching this.
I mean I got some great coffee. I mean we
we got some some bougie coffee sent our way. But uh,
why watching this? Just every possession, like did I see
(10:22):
what I thought?
Speaker 4 (10:23):
Right?
Speaker 5 (10:23):
And every block we're looking for Ian how much? How
much contact is there? Are we gonna get a late
whistle because the ball didn't go in all of that?
And I hate that that after three and a half,
now nearly four full games, we're still at that point though, Jason, Hey,
waiting for all right, how is this one going to
be adjudicated. What kind of chaos are we going to see?
Speaker 4 (10:44):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (10:44):
I mean, uh, this has been a and look you
had a h You had Jose Alvarado close to a
back court violation.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
Yeah, that.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
Man, I mean like that he didn't, but it was
really close because his body was across the ball was
behind you.
Speaker 4 (11:01):
But they did call the foul.
Speaker 6 (11:02):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (11:03):
So again, it's a one.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Oh six, one oh five lead for the Spurs, five
point seven seconds left. Nicks will be inbounding the ball.
It's gonna be and u nobi uh throwing it in
from just inside half court. Again, the Knicks need a
bucket if they if they get it here, Madison Square
Garden will explode. And if it doesn't, then we are
going to see oh gee and.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
Nob, Oh my goodness, oh g he know me timeout Spurs,
Oh my god, what just happened? Jalen Brunson takes a
far three, It bounces off the back of the rim,
flying in like Jordan in his heyday, and Nob with
(11:47):
the followed jam and half the way I love you.
It's a one oh seven, one oh six lead, one
point two seconds left to go. Latrell Spree will can't
even believe what happened. I can't believe what just happened.
It looked like that was the game. It was gonna
be a long rebound. The game was over.
Speaker 4 (12:06):
But og In bounds the ball to Brunson.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
Brunson goes in off the front of the rim and
og tips it in, runs through Wenby, through Castle.
Speaker 4 (12:16):
Everybody there.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
Wenby was out guarding brunts and don't put that on him.
Wemby was standing. He's standing in the paint. Mike Harmon's
getting into the paint as on it. Oway's flying in.
It only takes him a second.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
He's still buy him. He still flew by him. I
mean not that way. He still flew by Wenby.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
He flew by Duncan, he flew by Robinson, he flew
by Genobili, he flew by Tony Parker, he flew by everybody.
Speaker 5 (12:42):
Is that ai Tony Parker that we saw the other day?
I mean he's Longori again. This is the most insane
thing around and watching and on and Obi flies in
gets the tap in and the incredulity. I love the
little shot of all the ex Nicks looking around going
what the hell?
Speaker 4 (13:01):
I means like Patrick could have played ninety nine. We
might have had one of those. I can't I can't
get over that.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
I mean, it was a it's a far three and
there and and Bruntson is doubled on this, but you know, hey, Nick,
Live and Die by Jalen Brunson. So it's a shot
front of the rim, and Anna Nobi flies in and
just just gets a knot.
Speaker 4 (13:21):
It wasn't even looked like it was a clean tip.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
It looks like he gets a little bit of it
going up and uh and and it and it goes in.
Speaker 4 (13:28):
Uh. The spurs on the inbound.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
Fumble, the ball away, nixt win, nixt win, nixt win.
Speaker 4 (13:39):
Oh my god, the next of one. I feel like
bob here go, my god. The Indians win it.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
The Knicks winned one oh seven, one o six, play
it th shirt, playing for everybody, playing for Nix Nation,
playing for Oganunobi, who made the greatest shot in the
history of the Knicks franchise. The Kniser up three to
one going back to San Antonio. It's the largest comeback
winn an NBA Finals history. I'm gonna go just right
(14:06):
to the really hard liquor right now. Stuff I don't
even like like, stuff that I haven't had like bourbon.
Speaker 4 (14:12):
I'm gonna go right to that.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
And the last time I had bourbon, I was a
freshman at sorry senior, not a freshman, that's underage senior
in college, and I couldn't even go to class for
three days.
Speaker 4 (14:22):
After having bourbon. I'm gonna have bourbon right now.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
One oh seven, one oh six, the next win it
and they're up three games to one in the NBA Finals.
Speaker 4 (14:32):
Oh my god, I can't believe it. Oh my god,
Oh my goodness. Get ready here, cut everybody sing with
Alicia Keys.
Speaker 5 (14:41):
I don't know whether I'm supposed to break the silence
or whether you were gonna start screaming again.
Speaker 4 (14:45):
No, no, just watching you on the monitors. Just let
Alicia Keys finish. Then we go. Just let Alicia Keys finish.
Speaker 7 (14:51):
And.
Speaker 5 (14:56):
One step closer to making that man's dream come true.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
Oh but let me just say this, because you know, hey,
thank you, drive safely.
Speaker 4 (15:06):
Don't be that guy.
Speaker 5 (15:07):
No, no, no, no, no again.
Speaker 4 (15:09):
You were getting ready to trade everybody.
Speaker 5 (15:11):
At halftime for their lack of effort, lack of professionalism
and just failing. It's somewhere in that halftime speech who
walked in? Who was the I mean, did they they
go and and just play the speech from Miracle. Did
they find something from Nick Nolty when he was going
after Happy at the end of Blue Chips. I mean,
(15:33):
I don't know what was the thing to spur them on?
No pun intend?
Speaker 4 (15:37):
I mean this is I can't.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
Get over what what's the check buck line?
Speaker 1 (15:42):
I don't believe what I just saw. You can see
me on the video. My hands are shaking right now.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
No, you're twitch.
Speaker 5 (15:48):
I mean you're generally twitching right now, towards the end
of a night, caffeine is kicked in.
Speaker 4 (15:52):
Oh now, it's weird.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
I can't get over this. I cannot get over this
final play. The Spurs inbound and they get it in
that they get it into just outside the key, but
it's not a clean catch. Uh. I mean, I don't
know if the Spurs looking for a foul call in
that situation. I don't know that you're gonna get it
facing away from the basket.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
They haven't shown the replay yet, but they never got
the ball. They never were able to really pick it up.
And now the interview is going on on the court
in New York. They're taught, Look, Calipari is hugging.
Speaker 4 (16:26):
Chals there. Hey, just the process. Come here.
Speaker 5 (16:29):
We make billionaires out of the guys that come through
my programs.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
If I could be anywhere in the world in my
life in sports, I would be on the court of
Madison Square Garden right now.
Speaker 4 (16:40):
I never have to go anywhere else. I just need
to be there.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
I mean, really, this, this Ogian Unobi shot, this Odiannooby
follow is just legendary. It's a legendary NBA play. That's
how this is gonna go down. But he comes uncontested.
He does what he was full launching because he was
inbounding the ball. So of course when that happens, Brunson's
gonna get it. When you're double brunts and someone's going
to be open, so of course the inbounder is going
(17:05):
to be the guy that's not covered, which is going.
Speaker 4 (17:07):
To allow him a clear uh.
Speaker 5 (17:08):
Run time seconds Jason, What I mean that that nobody
is looking or making sure to body out at all,
and they're just watching ball watching terrible.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
Oh, let's hear we have it. Let's hear a Alex Tyshert.
Let's hear the most famous play in Knicks Mister.
Speaker 7 (17:26):
Five point seven left, no time out tremaining nanobe is handed,
the ball finds Brunton at the mid court. Launches are
straight on three. Mister George Tip playing anobe. He put
it in, put it in the next take the lead,
but one point two to go.
Speaker 4 (17:43):
Over nowhere.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
With Taylor Swift being board side down a Knicks Radio
network on the call.
Speaker 5 (18:00):
Hey, it's Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington from The Odd
Couple on Fox Sports Radio and.
Speaker 6 (18:04):
In addition to hearing us live weeknights from seven to
ten pm Eastern on Fox Sports Radio, we are excited to.
Speaker 4 (18:11):
Announce brand new YouTube channel for the show. That's right.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
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Speaker 6 (18:20):
All you gotta do search Odd Couple FSR on YouTube
again YouTube, Just search Odd Couple FSR.
Speaker 4 (18:26):
Check us out on YouTube and subscribe.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern seven
pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 4 (18:54):
I'm a Hotline to break it All Down.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Is a guy who potentially foreshadowed this for the better
part of the last week. Fox Sports won NBA Insider
Extraordinary Rick Bucker when we broke down the first couple
of games of the series. Rick said, one thing, The
Spurs play too fast. I'm standing up, I'm screaming at
my television. Slow down, you're playing too fast. And we
(19:18):
talked about a few minutes ago. To me, what was
the biggest play of the game the Aaron Fox chasing
down that loose ball instead of dribbling it back out,
tries to go in for a fast layup, He gets
it blocked, Knicks get possession, Andrew Nobi's heroics.
Speaker 4 (19:32):
The Knicks are up three to one.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
Rick, anything else you want to let us know about
the rest of the series that goes, Just let me
know right now ahead of time.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
Take some of the tenseness out of it for me.
Speaker 8 (19:40):
Yeah, no, I think we pretty much covered it, never doubt.
Yeah no, I'm I'm glad you brought up that. That
was the first thing that I thought was, Daron, what
are you doing like? You don't have to score there,
You need to run the clock out. You ran down
the ball. You had the opportu tunity you guys. I
(20:01):
mean I actually, starting in the third quarter, I did
not like the way the San Antonio Spurs were playing.
They obviously were shooting the lights out, particularly from three.
At the beginning of the game. My first thought was,
you're not going to continue to shoot seventy five percent
from three. That just does not happen. That's going to
balance out. And so if you think that, and clearly
(20:23):
they evidently did. In spite of it starting to balance out,
there were three for seventeen in the second half from
long range. They never adjusted, and when the game got
to fifteen going into the fourth quarter, I said, this
is a game. This is a game, and the Knicks
simply walked them down. And then we saw once again,
(20:47):
I just look the Aaron Fox putting the ball in
the Aaron Fox's hands as many times as they did.
I know Dylan Harper is a rookie. I would not
have continued to put the ball in in the Aaron's hands.
And simply he might be the he might be the veteran,
he might be the veteran guard among what they have,
(21:09):
but the reality is he's only been to the playoffs
once before. Asking him to close out a game in
the playoffs is more than I would do at this
at this stage, especially if he's still hampered by the ankle.
So a lot of credit to go around for. I mean, honestly,
watching the first half, I was like, man, san Antonio
(21:32):
has identified the offensive weak points for the New York
Knicks and they're exploiting that and that may change this series.
And then we got to the second half and the
youth of the san Antonios pert showed up again and
it was like, oh, this is why they were down
two to one in the series to begin with.
Speaker 5 (21:51):
Well, let's go to the brilliant o Giannaobi flying in.
Don't they teach in in basic grade school basketball? Hey,
keep an eye on the inbounder.
Speaker 8 (22:03):
Yeah, well, usually it's for us for a shot. But again,
Aaron Fox was in the in It was his play.
He came over from guarding the inbound and I really
didn't understand why you're gonna double team or try to
double team Jalen Brunson at what twenty seven to twenty
eight feet You're not he had too far to come.
(22:24):
I don't know if that was I'd find it hard
to believe that Mitch Johnson said we're gonna we're gonna
double team Jalen that far away from the basket. But
it was Daron coming over that gave Jalen a free
run and then Dylan Harper wasn't wasn't boxing anybody out,
(22:46):
and that's what that's what created the opportunity. But again,
I just lack of execution, lack of understanding exactly what
you have to do in those situations, the San Antonio spurs,
lack of experience and how to close out playoff games.
Reard ats ugly head once again.
Speaker 5 (23:02):
Is o g Nnobi now the greatest nick of all time?
He is tonight with that second half shooting plus those
two plays at the end of the game, Rick, I mean,
that's the stuff statues are built on.
Speaker 8 (23:16):
It's really it's it's interesting because we've, like, you know,
we've talked a little bit about this, Can you win
a championship with Jalen Brunson as your best player? And
you could look at this, you could look at this
series and say, no, you can't. But that doesn't mean
that the Knicks can't win because is performing like that
(23:38):
best player or you get sort of like the Warriors
when they had Steph It's like you get multiple contributions
from from guys that, uh that less than the responsibility
of the sixth the six foot guy who's your your
go to closer.
Speaker 4 (23:55):
Well, well, let let's be fair here. You know, I
told you Jalen Brunson was terrible the first three games
of this series. He was fantastic.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
Tonight he just he missed that shot at the end,
but Anonobe with a tipping but outside that he shot
while he didn't turn the ball over.
Speaker 4 (24:08):
This was This was his best game.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
And twenty nine point comebacks don't don't come unless your
best players is starting to hit shots like he did.
Speaker 8 (24:16):
He had a very good game. I still don't know
if I would say that he like you know, and
this gets into sort of the definition of when we
say that this guy was the best player and and
won the series like he did his part without question,
but the contribution of Anenobe and what they're getting from
(24:38):
from other places, it's it's it's not a domin it
was I would say this, it was a really good performance.
I don't know that Jalen Brunson, even tonight will this
being his best performance, dominated the game. He did what
he had to do to help the the Vicks win.
Speaker 5 (24:55):
It.
Speaker 8 (24:55):
Can we leave it at that?
Speaker 5 (24:56):
Sure, fifteen second half of Brunson, Let's just go to
the structure that is Madison Square Garden. What was wrong
with the shooting angles and vision on that end of
the court because both teams were terrible.
Speaker 8 (25:10):
Yeah, I don't know. I'd have to look at the
seating chart and see exactly which Hollywood stars were down
there that were potentially distracting the players. I don't know.
Speaker 4 (25:23):
It's a good to it.
Speaker 8 (25:25):
I don't have any not being in the building.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
I got nothing for you.
Speaker 4 (25:30):
What gremlins were on that end?
Speaker 2 (25:32):
Yeah, So.
Speaker 4 (25:35):
Let's go back to another moment. Rick.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
You know, we talked about the d' aaron Fox play.
No matter what, no matter how bad things were going
for the Spurs offensively. In the third quarter, it's a
twenty nine point lead and Wenby gets called for the
flagrant foul, and if you want to look for an
inflection point, the Knicks outscored the Spurs from that point
on fifty five twenty five. Now, I don't know if
it was where it pissed the Knicks off. I don't
(25:58):
know if this was where they sent a little bit
or they sensed up a little bit of screw it.
We finally got this call on Wemby. The Garden comes alive,
but it was just different from that moment on, and
it shouldn't have been. It should be Okay, yeah, Webby
gots a flagrant, that's great, it's a twenty nine point devisit.
But things were different from that point on.
Speaker 8 (26:16):
Yeah, you know what, what I felt early on was
that they they were looking to the rest to make
a call. They got too wound up, either begging for
calls or looking at the rest. I just thought that
they were they were distracted looking for calls rather than
just playing the game. And to your point, I don't
know whether that changed their mindset or their temperament or
(26:39):
is like, okay, we got one, you know what, let's
let's just play now.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
But but yeah, that was it was.
Speaker 8 (26:46):
It's interesting, and it's especially interesting because of all the
kind of the back and forth and some of the
stuff that Wemby has done. And he's one He's one
more flagrant foul away from missing a game, if I'm
not mistake. Yeah, So that that was I thought that
was interesting, getting that even prior to the Knicks winning
(27:08):
this game. I think, even at too two, if Brett
Wembley's on the on the verge of missing a game,
that could that could ultimately swing this series, and then
it wasn't necessary to think about that anymore because the
Knicks did it themselves.
Speaker 5 (27:21):
Twenty nine point nine deficit. Nick storm Back. I had
the video component of Jason Smith losing his mind, and
I really, I really thought, see what But here's how
the world changes, Rick. We started tonight. As we came
on air, things were just absolutely horrid. You saw the
floating dumpster fire and the Knicks are dead, dead in
(27:42):
the water, and people are texting me and tweeting at me,
going make sure you check in on your guy. How's
Jays going to be? Two hours later, I'm getting those texts.
How are you going to get through the next two
hours with him bouncing off walls?
Speaker 4 (27:58):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (27:59):
Yeah, I'm down three to one? Has hope been extinguished?
Now we've watched these Spurs all three losses, you can
say we're winnable games and that youth inexperience showing its head?
Speaker 6 (28:11):
Is this? It?
Speaker 4 (28:12):
Is it a wrap? On Saturday?
Speaker 8 (28:15):
I would fully expect that San Antonio can get another win.
I would then fully expect that the Knicks. I think
this leaves the mark. I think this anytime, and we've
seen it multiple times, a team gives up a lead
of this size, now you feel like no lead is
ever safe, and so you can get it to eighteen
(28:38):
twenty twenty two. And as soon as the other team
scores a couple bucks in buckets in a row, the
nerves kick in and that momentum builds quickly. I just
I don't see a way in which San Antonio has
the ability to win three games in a row. So
I don't know that it's necessarily closed in five. I
(28:58):
certainly do not believe It'sntonio Spurs are going to roll over.
We've we've already they already demonstrated that coming in UH
with UH and winning Game three, So I'm not expecting that.
But I also don't believe that the Spurs have the
requisitibility whatever you want to point to, have the requisitibility
(29:20):
to win three in a row to salvage this series.
So yes, it's a matter of it's a matter of when,
not if. For the New York Knicks.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
Words, Rick Bucker never thought he'd say for five hundred please, Alex.
Speaker 8 (29:35):
Uh, now you know what that is correct?
Speaker 4 (29:38):
For this year?
Speaker 8 (29:40):
That is correct.
Speaker 1 (29:43):
Now, I want to take you all the way back
to eight months ago, and by that I mean, the
first two minutes of the game tonight, let's go all
the way back. Kat gets called for that first foul
against the Aaron Fox, which did look like any contact,
and then the play that flipped the entire game. Kat
goes in and Wemby commits a foul. They go and look,
(30:03):
not only do they overturn it, they give Kat the
second foul. He's got to be on the bench. The
Spurs go out to a big role. The Knicks wanted
somebody to save them. What did you make of those
those two calls officiating wise in the first couple minutes
of the game, and we thought the game was going
to go one way.
Speaker 8 (30:18):
Honestly, I didn't have a problem with them. I you
could you could argue that. I mean, for there's always
the first couple of calls are to establish how the
game's going to be called.
Speaker 6 (30:28):
And uh.
Speaker 8 (30:29):
And the fact is that Carl was late getting over
and has one of one of the things that has
plagued him that has not plagued him for the most
part in he's playoffs is he picks up a lot
of dumb fouls and UH. And there's times where your beat,
you're you're not going to get back. You got to
(30:49):
give that up. And uh, and I thought it was legit.
I mean, I thought that the the the turning, the
overturning the call with with Wemby, he was the right call.
The questionable one was was there enough contact on that
first play? But if he gets one foul early, okay,
that's bad. But he's then got to realize, I have
(31:11):
one foul in the first minute of the game. I
can't get a second one. And and that's where Carl
has often got himself into trouble. So I'm not I'm
not pointing to that and thinking that that was one.
Speaker 4 (31:24):
That was not the reason that.
Speaker 8 (31:25):
The that the Spurs got off to the start that
they did. They were they had a lot else going on.
They were shooting it well. The Knicks once again looked
frazzled in terms of their execution. It just compounded things
that that Carl was not on the floor because clearly
what they wanted to do game plan wise was establish
(31:46):
him early because he hadn't They hadn't been able to
do that in in Game three and that and he
can be a difference maker. But as far as those
two calls I got, I don't have it. I don't
have an issue with it. I would say this game
was officiated better than Game three was. And and part
(32:07):
of the challenge for these referees was the way that
Game three was called, because now it was you know,
guys are trying everything to see exactly where the line
is and uh, and it made a real challenge for
Zach Darby and his crew to establish that line. But
I thought I thought they were like they no bones
(32:27):
about it. We don't care, like we don't care that
that that, uh, these calls may be favoring the visitors
or any of that. We're gonna we're gonna call it
as to see it. We're gonna try to keep control
of this game from getting out of hand. And let's
face it, the Knicks were picked.
Speaker 4 (32:42):
Off at Wemby.
Speaker 8 (32:43):
They were trying all kinds of things that that were
technically fouls. The one on Holy Alvarado like he found him,
found him five six times. They finally blew the whistle.
So I think they were just trying to not let
this let the Knicks bully their way uh to a win,
and I and the Knicks didn't need it.
Speaker 4 (33:04):
Ultimately, He's on Twitter at Rick Buker.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
That is at Rick Buker, the On the Ball podcast,
and of all the years on the show, the phrase
it's just a matter of when, not if for the Knicks,
the most unbelievable things that he has ever said, probably
in his basketball life.
Speaker 4 (33:23):
Rick, Thanks so much, as always, buddy. We'll talk to
you next week. Rick.
Speaker 5 (33:31):
Yeah, a matter of fact, Yeah, trying to get those
words out, Jason. I mean you could tell Rick, you know,
he really thought about it and walked around a bit
before he came on.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific.
Speaker 1 (33:53):
You know, a minute like we've done here on the
show me and Mike, uh is to go certain things
at a time, is to go, hey, let's talk about
this year, because then you wind up doing a stream
of consciouness radio in which would be easy to do
with this game and play this play is play. Uh,
But a couple of things to focus on here. We
got Rick Bucker coming up in twenty minutes, and I'll
tell you what he said something the other night on
(34:15):
the show that comes back and comes home to rus
which we'll get to but two of the biggest things
from this game, right, the Spurs have a huge lead
Karl Anthony Towns and foul trouble beginning of the game.
The Knicks don't recover from it. The Spurs get out
to a huge lead at halftimes, twenty nine point lead.
In the middle of the third quarter, you're looking for
an inflection point for the comeback for the Knicks. Victor
(34:37):
Webbin Yama gets called for a flagrant foul on Karl
Anthony Towns and at the time, it looked like it
was just a throw away moment, right, It didn't look
like it didn't look like it rose to the level
of a flagrant foul. However, they had just called one
on Mitchell Robinson earlier in the game for an elbow
that caught Wemby.
Speaker 4 (34:55):
Up in the neck. So this was an elbow by Wembd.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
It wasn't can't say it wasn't a foul, but it
it was an elbow that caught Karl Anthony Towns under
the chin.
Speaker 4 (35:03):
And I am sure, because I know psychology, I know people,
I'm sure.
Speaker 1 (35:07):
At that point, the NBA said, yeah, okay, we can
give Wenby a flagrant on this we kind of biffed
it not giving him the flagrant on the Jalen Brunson
play from two nights ago. Yeah, but so we kind
of owe him one, so we can give him the
flagrant here, right, what's the damage? The Spurs are up
twenty nine flagrant foul?
Speaker 4 (35:22):
What does it matter?
Speaker 1 (35:24):
The Knicks out scored the Spurs from that moment fifty
five to twenty five. You're looking for the inflection point
of where things started. It was right there, that moment
right there. I don't know if that's where the Knicks
decided we're gonna keep playing. Where the Knicks said, now
we're pissed.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
But to see even at that point, Mike, to see
a twenty nine point deficit, that even hey, all right.
Speaker 1 (35:45):
Fine that we get the foul. Hey, okay, we're looking
for positivity. I can't believe that the Knicks said, yeah,
let's go expend all this energy in a comeback because
this is just not our night.
Speaker 4 (35:56):
Whatever it is, this is just not our night.
Speaker 3 (35:59):
And not only do the come back and make it
worthwhile they win the bleeping game, Like, but you want
to go back and find the inflection point for the
beginning of this comeback the beginning of this story. That's
where it starts right now. That Wemby flagrant in the
third quarter.
Speaker 5 (36:12):
Yeah, I mean we talked about it as it developed,
and it didn't really look egregious on the grand scheme.
The Mitchell Robinson more a forearm shivered to the next
So you know the physicality that we thought would come
against Wembin Yama.
Speaker 4 (36:27):
There it was in that moment.
Speaker 5 (36:28):
We saw a lot of little micro pieces and stuff.
And certainly after the Robinson you had Wembin Yama sitting
on the ground laughing at him saying, I'm in your head.
Well cut to the chase that for the Knicks, I
think what they heard the first two games, everybody said, hey,
everybody heard, you're the champions, and patting everybody on the back. Right,
(36:50):
Karl Anthony Towns getting the great hug that's been awaiting
him and recognizing his ten years in the year in
the league. Jalen Bronson hadn't played well, but came up
big in Game one and Game two and big moments. Right,
So all of that you read your press clipping, So
all of a sudden, everybody swung the other way. We
had a kind of a listless effort for a good
(37:11):
chunk of the early part of Game three. A lot
of excuse making, right Ah, there's you know, political folks
in Ah. It was tough to get in all of
this as opposed to just say, you know, we played badly,
we lost, and for this it was a no show
effort in the first half. I think someone at least
in the locker room, and I'd like to and I
(37:32):
can't wait to hear it in the post. I gotta
think someone at least did a Will Ferrell, slammed a
locker and said we gotta keep our composure and actually
play the basketball, because otherwise, what's the fish rap gonna
look like tomorrow? If they'd lost this game, even if
they'd lost by one, right, they were gonna wear it.
And for all of these guys, that's all they've done
as members of the New York Knicks, is they've had
(37:54):
to wear it time and time again. I mean, it's
fifty three years of it, it's twenty seven years of it.
Pick your timeline of all of this. It was gonna
be same old Knicks if they lost this game. And
I gotta think at least on some level they said,
all right, we're at least not gonna go down literally
without a fight. And then I can go into the
cacophony of voices now raising up against the Spurs because
(38:18):
there's a million things they did wrong to leave that
door a cracked, to allow the Knicks to come and
just storm the castle.
Speaker 4 (38:25):
Now you mentioned that, and that's where we have to
get to this play right here. This is where.
Speaker 1 (38:29):
Look, we talked to guys on the show all the time.
When I say Rick Buker, and you talk about when
I say there's no one better to talk basketball with
than Rick Buker, I mean, look, we have guys him
and Mark Stein on the show. Rick Buker said this
to us now the last couple of times we've had
him on, and he had said watching watching the NBA Finals.
Still there's times to him where the Spurs play too fast,
(38:52):
where they're too fast, where he says, I'm standing up
and I'm just saying, guys, slow it down, slow it down.
I don't like that he's coaching against the Knicks, but
I get what he's doing.
Speaker 5 (38:59):
Well, It's like me again, I'm not cheering against your Knicks.
I hate watching bad sports, bad basketball, And as soon
as you're dumb on either side.
Speaker 4 (39:08):
We're gonna call it out here on the radio.
Speaker 1 (39:11):
So you say, guys, slow it down, slow it down,
slow it down. Right, I've seen, you know, slow it down.
They go too fast, They play too fast a lot
and go back to the next to last sequence in
this game, right, the next to last sequence where the
Knicks worked down by one and they had the ball
(39:31):
and they don't get a great shot off and the
ball gets tipped out deep into the Knicks backcourt. Daron Fox,
who has alternately killed the Spurs in this series. Right,
to be fair, like Daron Fox a terrific player, but wow,
there's been times where his decision making he has absolutely
killed the Spurs. Right, the ball is loose, and as
(39:53):
an NBA player, you have to know this. He's been
the league right long enough now to know the situation.
In theory, you can say, when you're racing to you know,
backcourt to get the ball, this could be a breakaway
layup for me in a three point lead. But he's
got to know when I'm getting the ball and Hunobi
is back right, because you want to talk about Antobe
making a play before the play, yeah, right, and Hunobi
(40:16):
is back when dearon Fox gets that ball and he
tries to just take a step and rush for a layup.
This is where as an NBA and like I said,
the guy's been in the league for a long time.
You gotta know, Okay, the defender is there, I'm out
of control. I need to dribble this back out, take
time off the clock, make the Knicks foul, and I'm
(40:36):
going to the free throw line up an eighty percent
shooter from the free throw line, and I'm getting to
the free throw line to try to win this game.
There's a lot of chaos happening right now, and the
defender is here, and oh, by the way, it's one
of the top defenders in the NBA. And Oganunobi, right,
you got to make a better decision. But he plays
too fast and he decides to go in for the layup.
I can make this game winning play.
Speaker 4 (40:56):
And what happens.
Speaker 1 (40:57):
Anunobi rejects it. The Knicks get the ball, they get
the ball cross half court, they call time out. Brunson
shot Anunobi on there from there. But you want to
go back and talk about what a horrible decision that
was for de Aaron Fox, You're gonna hear the play
and this is where the If you are the Spurs,
the one play in this game that you want back
is this one.
Speaker 4 (41:17):
That's a fack Brunson on the drive to pull.
Speaker 3 (41:19):
This up, Chuck on go rebound deplected in the back court.
Speaker 4 (41:23):
Fox, that's a chance.
Speaker 2 (41:24):
To get it.
Speaker 3 (41:24):
Fox hasn't Insunoby.
Speaker 4 (41:28):
Mine secondsmading.
Speaker 1 (41:31):
Next radio on the call and as we know from there,
the big shot the play by Anonobi. The Spurs can't
get a hoop at the other end with one second left,
but that watching that play, I guarantee you we'll talk
to Rick Buker in in five minutes more, ten minutes, Mike,
and he's gonna say I told them they play too fast.
Speaker 4 (41:46):
I keep telling them they play too fast. They won't
listen to me.
Speaker 5 (41:49):
It's funny, I tweeted out just the first of what
will be a nine part missive of the mistakes of
the Spurs and that lad that led it. So the
fact that we're talking about it right now leading into
our conversation with Rick, let's go back to it. O
Gianoba a fantastic play right as he closes out and
he's back and how many times do we see the
Knicks that when it wasn't Brunson. Think about Josh Hart,
(42:11):
Think about Alvarado. Think about all the Knick players going
down into the low post. How many times did they
cut and turn back out if they knew that the
shot was gonna get challenged, whether Wenby was already back
or whatever. Live to find a better shot, a better sequence,
and a better opportunity to finish. Darn Fox, who we've
called into in the question a number of times over
(42:31):
these four games, Jason, another one of those you know what,
let Ananobi fly by ball fake, let him fall into you,
get to the file line, or just cut back and
extend it, make them chase you down instead. The ball
ends in Alvarado's hands. Eventually, Fox commits the file at
five point four seconds as we set up in the
(42:53):
front court, and away we go. But yeah, it's another
decision of along with all of the quick three point shots,
which is a whole other, uh you know, level of chaos,
But in that particular moment, yeah, slow down, stop for you.
It's like, that's great because that's who they are. I mean,
they actually because Jason, they average twenty five years of age.
(43:17):
I mean, they just don't know and and darreon Fox
played a lot with the Kings. He's not been in
these situations.
Speaker 7 (43:23):
No, it.
Speaker 4 (43:25):
Is a new thing. It isn't. But I mean that's
where But but you've played a long time. You have
to know that the end of games like that's what
he did. You have to do right.
Speaker 1 (43:32):
You can't just you can't. I mean, I'm gonna try
to make this heroic play. If it was a tie
game or you were down one, I get it. But
you have the lead, right, j R.
Speaker 4 (43:41):
Smith? You gotta know the situation of the game. Is
that not right for j R? Smith?
Speaker 5 (43:47):
J R.
Speaker 4 (43:48):
Smith Smith's huge boner?
Speaker 3 (43:52):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (43:52):
I mean that he was there, I think too.
Speaker 1 (43:55):
I think everybody who has ever played for the Knicks
was at the game tonight, except I know there's any
but guys are I think Steve Novak was at the game.
Speaker 4 (44:02):
Did anybody walk in with.
Speaker 5 (44:03):
An Oakley one of those coolly fabricated masks like Cranston
had at that comic cond that times Eisenberg?
Speaker 4 (44:11):
Is anybody? Because I had to come as Oakley?
Speaker 1 (44:12):
Yet I think if you try to come in even
wearing Charles Oakley gear, you're not allowed it.
Speaker 4 (44:16):
Okay. I don't even a no, no, they trade you
out for a new one. No no, no, no. Here
you can't wear this, wear this one. But I mean
we see a lot of insane old nicktures.
Speaker 5 (44:28):
That's one of my favorite things on Football Sundays, or
if you go to your favorite ballyard. I remember we
went to a bar here in the Los Angeles. It
was a Bears bar, and just seeing the fifty years
of jerseys on display, it's like, Wow, they got you
for that guy. He played two games man, But yeah,
j R. Smith is invoked here in the memory there.
Speaker 1 (44:53):
I mean, like that's a play where if you talk
about all the things the Spurs want back, yea like
the because it's a decision. It's not a play, it's
a decision. That's why what you would want Wemby's missed
free throws back right, Like I mean the guy after
Josh Hart misses a layup that was going to give
the Knicks the lead. I know, right he got that's
a bad decision. That's a decision. That's what they would
have looked back at had the Knicks lost this game. Like, dude,
(45:15):
you're going into dunket. I know that he felt that
Steph Castle was behind him, but just dunk it. That
would have been the play. The Knicks fans going, that
would have been it, right, But Wenby like, okay, he
missed two free throws, Like it's not like anything. It
was a bad decision. He missed two free throws. This
was a decision that the Aaron Fox has to make
him know the situation, man, like, you gotta know. This
is where when the Knicks took a two games to
(45:36):
none lead, we said, this is why I said I
want the Knicks playing the Spurs instead of the Knicks
playing the Thunder because the Spurs haven't been here, not
like the Knicks have been there.
Speaker 4 (45:44):
But the Knicks have been through the wars of.
Speaker 1 (45:46):
Eastern Conference second round and Eastern Conference Finals the last
couple of years at least they've been through that. This
is a huge, you know, new run for the Spurs
to get back saying, oh wow, this is it. Everything
is new for them. So I knew at the end
of games that it was gonna favor the Knicks and
this falls into that as well, Like that's a that's
a play that you know a team has to know.
(46:06):
You have to make the right call there instead of
playing too fast and that's the Spurs did, and that's
why the Spurs sitting back, why they're down. They're going
We've been the better team for the better part of
this entire series and we're going home down three to one.
Like that's where the Spurs have to sit there and say,
what can we possibly do now? How can we possibly
win this series with what we've seen so far?
Speaker 5 (46:25):
Aaron Fox came into the league in twenty seventeen, and
then we've got to close the circle, right because we
talked about coach cal and the happiness and celebratory moment
with Karl Anthony Towns.
Speaker 4 (46:38):
Does he have to go to the other locker room
and go hug dearon Fox Now? Oh yeah, I think so.
I mean, we got it.
Speaker 5 (46:44):
You're gonna have both ends, right. We gotta keep balance
in the force.
Speaker 4 (46:48):
Just awful. Yeah, exit, how about a Fresca exit swollen Dome.
Speaker 1 (46:52):
The Jason Smith Show with Mike Carmon Live from the
Fox Sports Radio studios, coming up next. Fox Sports One
insider Rick Bucker stops by. He gets his flowers for
calling it on the Spurs three and four days ago. Uh,
we are continuing. We'll hear from some of the big
particulars from the game Brunson and Unobe, Mike Brown, Mitch Johnson.
(47:12):
Dearon Fox if he actually speaks.
Speaker 5 (47:14):
I got more for you though, before we get out, though, God,
have you thanked your your savior Dan Housen yet today?
Speaker 4 (47:22):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (47:22):
In the Wu Tank Klan, Wu Tank Klan, Wu Tank
Clan from Staten Island, where I from, where I grew up,
from Staten Island, Wu Tank Clan.
Speaker 4 (47:30):
Okay, there you go. Okay, there we go.
Speaker 1 (47:32):
That's coming up next right here, Jason and Mike Fox
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Thanks for listening to the best of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Carmon podcast. Be sure to catch us
live every weeknight from ten pm to two am Eastern
seven to eleven pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find
your local station for The Jason Smith Show with Mike
Harmon at Fox Sports Radio dot com, or stream us
live every night on the iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
This is the best of the Jason Smith Show with
Mike Harmon on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Really interesting in Madison Square Garden, a twenty nine point
lead in the second half is a point for San Antonio.
With two minutes left to go, Jalen Brunson hits a
three to cut it to one oh four to one
oh three. Josh Hart intercepts the pass. He goes in
for a breakaway layup, and probably because he feels Steph
(00:55):
Castle running behind him, he's going up, but Steph Castle
is three feet behind me. This is gonna be a
dunk or a layup, and the Knicks have the lead,
and he just kind of lets the ball go near
the rim and it bounces off the rim in and out,
and so there are no points on that possession for
the Knicks. However, Wemby just got fouled, missed both free throws,
(01:20):
so wemb So now you're talking about one miss dunk
and then two miss free throws by Wemby. So the
Knicks have the basketball now with a minute a half
left to go down a point. It was a twenty
nine point deficit they were facing, and now they could
be on the cusp of taking the lead.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
And Jalen Brunson gives them the lead at one oh five,
one oh four. The comeback is here, Madison square card.
I can't believe people aren't running on the court right now.
It's absolute insanity. Ben's just ready to lead of the
game now, everybody you kidding. Ben still is ready to
run on the court.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Here one oh five, one oh four with a minute
plus left to go in the game, and it was
a twenty nine point lead for the San Antonio Spurs.
And that's gonna be an offensive foul call or an
out of bounds. He's out of bounds, but they're gonna
look at it because I think the Knicks want the
foul call, but the out of bounds would preclude the foul.
Steph Castle dribbling on the baseline stepped out of bounds,
(02:19):
so that's going to give the ball back to the Knicks.
He then put out a big elbow into Josh Hart
that the Knicks want a foul call on. However, they're
getting the ball out of bounds because Steph Castle stepped
out of bounds. That's going to predate that. So now
the Knicks have the ball up one with less than
a minute left to go. This is absolute chaos and
(02:41):
bedlam and a comeback that started for the Knicks in
the third quarter when the Spurs were up twenty nine
and Victor Webbin Yama gets called for an offensive foul
or gets called for a flagrant foul and the Knicks
comeback started there. All right, this is a Wemby flagrant
foul and elbow on Karl Anthony Towns. That what did
(03:03):
it rise to the level of a flagrant? You can
debate that, but clearly what Wemby had gotten away with.
Maybe the officials felt, well, you know, we put Karl
Anthony Towns on the bench with the first half basically
and gave the first half to the Spurs. Yeah, we'll
give Wemby the flagrant. Since that flagrant foul. The New
York Knicks have out. I can't do the math, but
it was eighty one fix because I'm so insane right now.
(03:24):
It was eighty one fifty two and now it's one
oh five, one oh four the Knicks with the lead.
It is the Spurs scoring twenty three points. The Knicks
run is fifty three to twenty three since the Karl
Anthony Towns flagrant foul on wemby a fifty three to
twenty three run by the Knicks. I don't know what
(03:44):
to say, Mike Carmen. I don't know what to say.
I'm gonna start drinking. I'm really I've never done that,
but I'm gonna start drinking tonight.
Speaker 4 (03:50):
I really think this might be the night where I
do it well.
Speaker 5 (03:53):
I mean, look the video cameras on. It'll be a
fun watch.
Speaker 4 (03:57):
You turn into. I don't know you even know where
you're at at this point.
Speaker 5 (04:00):
From a mental standpoint, I want to go back to
that Josh Hart little out of bounds play. That was
a more egregious hooking of a guy's arm by Josh
Hart in that corner than anything that happened on the
second file that was eventually given to Karl Anthony Towns
in the first half, and so the frustration of hey,
(04:20):
get off me was really what transpired after the out
of bounds play. But we talk about a tale of
two games at once as well as the Spurs play.
This has been an absolute meltdown and a travesty of
watching just the consistency and effort that they showed and
(04:43):
again giving the first half to the Knicks. I think
you want a little fan there. They didn't give the
half your team, then gave it away after he got
to the bench. We're still playing basketball. But for the
Spurs here, they've watched the Knicks be the aggressor, saying
there's still plenty of time on clock and playing to win,
as opposed to the Spurs playing just thinking they can
(05:06):
ride out the good vibes of a first half, And
the Knicks have been the aggressor the entire way through
that flagrant file that got called on Webbin Yaba all
that time ago. He's settled for jump shots, He's made
a couple, but the offensive set and continuity of that
first half is long in the rear view mirror. As
(05:28):
the Knicks looked, you try to close this thing out.
Speaker 4 (05:30):
I mean a.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Fifty three to twenty three run since the Wemby flagrant
fifty three. Twenty three is the run since the flagrant. Right, Like,
there's games where at that point you would think, middle
of third quarter, we're down twenty nine, it's just gonna
be bench guys extraordinaire. Right, We're gonna sit here and
we're not gonna try to do this. We're gonna save
our guys for Game five on Saturday, you know, get
(05:53):
some extra rest. But instead the Knicks, the Knicks decided, hey, yeah,
we're just gonna continue to come back. We're gonna continue
to keep playing. And that's something they didn't do in
the first half. Right, what did I say about them
in the first half when Kat went to the bench
with those with those two fouls in the first three
minutes of the game, which was ridiculously bad.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
The Knicks let that affect them. They let that affect
them with ah, man, now we don't know.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
What to do.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
We feel sorry for ourselves. And the Spurs got out
to a big run.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
Now when I would expect them to say, okay, let's
you know, let's let's uh, let's just kind of put
this away.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
And get ready for Game five. No, now, we're gonna
start to come back. So when I thought they would
come back and suck it up, they didn't. And when
I thought they would quit and say let's get ready
for Saturday, then they decide to come back.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
So that's where we're at.
Speaker 5 (06:35):
The Spurs with just seven makes in the second half.
You want to go down that road, some free throws
mixed therein, But you look at the the shot chart,
just three makes from beyond the arc, with an awful
lot of empty circles along the way and some bad
possessions mixed there in. But give the Nicks all the
(06:56):
credit in the world. Is if it does go down
as it's with a one point Spurs lead after that
valiant comeback, you still look back and go, hey, that
first half was ridiculous, But at least the crowd got
excited for a while. I mean that that's been fun
to watch because every celebrity has now been named checked
and Taylor Swift's been shown more now than on any
(07:18):
Chiefs game of the last three years.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
One oh six, one oh five Spurs with the lead,
dearon Fox misses a pull up jumper and Steph Castle
swoops in for the offensive rebound, which come on, guys,
the ball's not just gonna go to you. The Knicks foul,
Josh Hart commits the foul, Castle hits both free throws.
It's a one oh six, one oh five lead right
now for the Spurs. Time out on the floor with
(07:43):
thirty seconds left to go. I don't know how to
describe this game. I really don't. This is this is
one of those games where you could do an entire
thirty for thirty just on this game, Game four of
the NBA of the nineteen twenty twenty six nineteen Look
at me, it's like forty years ago, the.
Speaker 4 (08:00):
Twenty twenty six NBA Finals.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Like I I there's there's been seventeen different stories in
this game. I mean it feels like the like the
the officials and what they did at the beginning of
the game that was like three games ago, and instead
it's been the Nicks refusing to die and coming back
here again, still a ways to go. You got thirty
seconds ago in a one point game, Spurs of retaken
the lead. But I don't know, man, Really I might
(08:22):
start drinking on the air. I really might. This might
be the night where I say, you know, I just
gotta go right to the hard stuff, not even not
even yet. Oh you want some non alcoholic No, no, no,
right to the herd stuff.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
That's kind of where's my bourbon? Yeah, that's where I
gotta go.
Speaker 5 (08:35):
I mean, look it, it's past, it's near midnight on
the East Coast. I mean, nobody would blame you after
what you watched in the first half. Yeah, I wouldn't
change it, And after watching the comeback in the second half,
I sure as hell wouldn't blame you.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Uh So, right now, there are five point seven seconds
left in the fourth quarter. It is still a one
oh six, one oh five lead for the Spurs. Time
out on the floor. The Knicks have the basketball with
just under six seconds left to go. The Knicks missed
(09:13):
a shot, Spurs went down for a layup, they missed.
Jose Alvarado got the ball, the Knicks got the ball
across half court. Now is a timeout on the floor.
Five point seven seconds left. The Knicks are down by
a point. So we're either gonna get some final second
heroics by the Knicks or the Spurs are gonna absolutely
escape and go back to San Antonio with this series
(09:37):
now tied it to a piece.
Speaker 4 (09:38):
I mean this last few seconds. It's insane.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
Last sequence is the game in in in a nutshell
right there? Right like the Knicks get a bad offensive
possession and a bad shot. The Spurs go down with
a chance for a layup that can you know, not
quite clinch the game, but give them a three point lead.
They miss, and and and the Knicks get the ball
across the court.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
Block is shirt.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
I know, I know, I know, it's it's I yeah,
I don't know what to I don't even really drink.
I can't tell you last time I had a beer.
I might start tonight. I bet you maybe three in
the last six months. I want to crank after watching this.
I mean I got some great coffee. I mean we
we got some some bougie coffee sent our way. But uh,
why watching this? Just every possession, like did I see
(10:22):
what I thought?
Speaker 4 (10:23):
Right?
Speaker 5 (10:23):
And every block we're looking for Ian how much? How
much contact is there? Are we gonna get a late
whistle because the ball didn't go in all of that?
And I hate that that after three and a half,
now nearly four full games, we're still at that point though, Jason, Hey,
waiting for all right, how is this one going to
be adjudicated. What kind of chaos are we going to see?
Speaker 4 (10:44):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (10:44):
I mean, uh, this has been a and look you
had a h You had Jose Alvarado close to a
back court violation.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
Yeah, that.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
Man, I mean like that he didn't, but it was
really close because his body was across the ball was
behind you.
Speaker 4 (11:01):
But they did call the foul.
Speaker 6 (11:02):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (11:03):
So again, it's a one.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Oh six, one oh five lead for the Spurs, five
point seven seconds left. Nicks will be inbounding the ball.
It's gonna be and u nobi uh throwing it in
from just inside half court. Again, the Knicks need a
bucket if they if they get it here, Madison Square
Garden will explode. And if it doesn't, then we are
going to see oh gee and.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
Nob, Oh my goodness, oh g he know me timeout Spurs,
Oh my god, what just happened? Jalen Brunson takes a
far three, It bounces off the back of the rim,
flying in like Jordan in his heyday, and Nob with
(11:47):
the followed jam and half the way I love you.
It's a one oh seven, one oh six lead, one
point two seconds left to go. Latrell Spree will can't
even believe what happened. I can't believe what just happened.
It looked like that was the game. It was gonna
be a long rebound. The game was over.
Speaker 4 (12:06):
But og In bounds the ball to Brunson.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
Brunson goes in off the front of the rim and
og tips it in, runs through Wenby, through Castle.
Speaker 4 (12:16):
Everybody there.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
Wenby was out guarding brunts and don't put that on him.
Wemby was standing. He's standing in the paint. Mike Harmon's
getting into the paint as on it. Oway's flying in.
It only takes him a second.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
He's still buy him. He still flew by him. I
mean not that way. He still flew by Wenby.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
He flew by Duncan, he flew by Robinson, he flew
by Genobili, he flew by Tony Parker, he flew by everybody.
Speaker 5 (12:42):
Is that ai Tony Parker that we saw the other day?
I mean he's Longori again. This is the most insane
thing around and watching and on and Obi flies in
gets the tap in and the incredulity. I love the
little shot of all the ex Nicks looking around going
what the hell?
Speaker 4 (13:01):
I means like Patrick could have played ninety nine. We
might have had one of those. I can't I can't
get over that.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
I mean, it was a it's a far three and
there and and Bruntson is doubled on this, but you know, hey, Nick,
Live and Die by Jalen Brunson. So it's a shot
front of the rim, and Anna Nobi flies in and
just just gets a knot.
Speaker 4 (13:21):
It wasn't even looked like it was a clean tip.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
It looks like he gets a little bit of it
going up and uh and and it and it goes in.
Speaker 4 (13:28):
Uh. The spurs on the inbound.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
Fumble, the ball away, nixt win, nixt win, nixt win.
Speaker 4 (13:39):
Oh my god, the next of one. I feel like
bob here go, my god. The Indians win it.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
The Knicks winned one oh seven, one o six, play
it th shirt, playing for everybody, playing for Nix Nation,
playing for Oganunobi, who made the greatest shot in the
history of the Knicks franchise. The Kniser up three to
one going back to San Antonio. It's the largest comeback
winn an NBA Finals history. I'm gonna go just right
(14:06):
to the really hard liquor right now. Stuff I don't
even like like, stuff that I haven't had like bourbon.
Speaker 4 (14:12):
I'm gonna go right to that.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
And the last time I had bourbon, I was a
freshman at sorry senior, not a freshman, that's underage senior
in college, and I couldn't even go to class for
three days.
Speaker 4 (14:22):
After having bourbon. I'm gonna have bourbon right now.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
One oh seven, one oh six, the next win it
and they're up three games to one in the NBA Finals.
Speaker 4 (14:32):
Oh my god, I can't believe it. Oh my god,
Oh my goodness. Get ready here, cut everybody sing with
Alicia Keys.
Speaker 5 (14:41):
I don't know whether I'm supposed to break the silence
or whether you were gonna start screaming again.
Speaker 4 (14:45):
No, no, just watching you on the monitors. Just let
Alicia Keys finish. Then we go. Just let Alicia Keys finish.
Speaker 7 (14:51):
And.
Speaker 5 (14:56):
One step closer to making that man's dream come true.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
Oh but let me just say this, because you know, hey,
thank you, drive safely.
Speaker 4 (15:06):
Don't be that guy.
Speaker 5 (15:07):
No, no, no, no, no again.
Speaker 4 (15:09):
You were getting ready to trade everybody.
Speaker 5 (15:11):
At halftime for their lack of effort, lack of professionalism
and just failing. It's somewhere in that halftime speech who
walked in? Who was the I mean, did they they
go and and just play the speech from Miracle. Did
they find something from Nick Nolty when he was going
after Happy at the end of Blue Chips. I mean,
(15:33):
I don't know what was the thing to spur them on?
No pun intend?
Speaker 4 (15:37):
I mean this is I can't.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
Get over what what's the check buck line?
Speaker 1 (15:42):
I don't believe what I just saw. You can see
me on the video. My hands are shaking right now.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
No, you're twitch.
Speaker 5 (15:48):
I mean you're generally twitching right now, towards the end
of a night, caffeine is kicked in.
Speaker 4 (15:52):
Oh now, it's weird.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
I can't get over this. I cannot get over this
final play. The Spurs inbound and they get it in
that they get it into just outside the key, but
it's not a clean catch. Uh. I mean, I don't
know if the Spurs looking for a foul call in
that situation. I don't know that you're gonna get it
facing away from the basket.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
They haven't shown the replay yet, but they never got
the ball. They never were able to really pick it up.
And now the interview is going on on the court
in New York. They're taught, Look, Calipari is hugging.
Speaker 4 (16:26):
Chals there. Hey, just the process. Come here.
Speaker 5 (16:29):
We make billionaires out of the guys that come through
my programs.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
If I could be anywhere in the world in my
life in sports, I would be on the court of
Madison Square Garden right now.
Speaker 4 (16:40):
I never have to go anywhere else. I just need
to be there.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
I mean, really, this, this Ogian Unobi shot, this Odiannooby
follow is just legendary. It's a legendary NBA play. That's
how this is gonna go down. But he comes uncontested.
He does what he was full launching because he was
inbounding the ball. So of course when that happens, Brunson's
gonna get it. When you're double brunts and someone's going
to be open, so of course the inbounder is going
(17:05):
to be the guy that's not covered, which is going.
Speaker 4 (17:07):
To allow him a clear uh.
Speaker 5 (17:08):
Run time seconds Jason, What I mean that that nobody
is looking or making sure to body out at all,
and they're just watching ball watching terrible.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
Oh, let's hear we have it. Let's hear a Alex Tyshert.
Let's hear the most famous play in Knicks Mister.
Speaker 7 (17:26):
Five point seven left, no time out tremaining nanobe is handed,
the ball finds Brunton at the mid court. Launches are
straight on three. Mister George Tip playing anobe. He put
it in, put it in the next take the lead,
but one point two to go.
Speaker 4 (17:43):
Over nowhere.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
With Taylor Swift being board side down a Knicks Radio
network on the call.
Speaker 5 (18:00):
Hey, it's Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington from The Odd
Couple on Fox Sports Radio and.
Speaker 6 (18:04):
In addition to hearing us live weeknights from seven to
ten pm Eastern on Fox Sports Radio, we are excited to.
Speaker 4 (18:11):
Announce brand new YouTube channel for the show. That's right.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
You can now watch The Odd Couple live on YouTube
every day.
Speaker 6 (18:20):
All you gotta do search Odd Couple FSR on YouTube
again YouTube, Just search Odd Couple FSR.
Speaker 4 (18:26):
Check us out on YouTube and subscribe.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern seven
pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 4 (18:54):
I'm a Hotline to break it All Down.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Is a guy who potentially foreshadowed this for the better
part of the last week. Fox Sports won NBA Insider
Extraordinary Rick Bucker when we broke down the first couple
of games of the series. Rick said, one thing, The
Spurs play too fast. I'm standing up, I'm screaming at
my television. Slow down, you're playing too fast. And we
(19:18):
talked about a few minutes ago. To me, what was
the biggest play of the game the Aaron Fox chasing
down that loose ball instead of dribbling it back out,
tries to go in for a fast layup, He gets
it blocked, Knicks get possession, Andrew Nobi's heroics.
Speaker 4 (19:32):
The Knicks are up three to one.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
Rick, anything else you want to let us know about
the rest of the series that goes, Just let me
know right now ahead of time.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
Take some of the tenseness out of it for me.
Speaker 8 (19:40):
Yeah, no, I think we pretty much covered it, never doubt.
Yeah no, I'm I'm glad you brought up that. That
was the first thing that I thought was, Daron, what
are you doing like? You don't have to score there,
You need to run the clock out. You ran down
the ball. You had the opportu tunity you guys. I
(20:01):
mean I actually, starting in the third quarter, I did
not like the way the San Antonio Spurs were playing.
They obviously were shooting the lights out, particularly from three.
At the beginning of the game. My first thought was,
you're not going to continue to shoot seventy five percent
from three. That just does not happen. That's going to
balance out. And so if you think that, and clearly
(20:23):
they evidently did. In spite of it starting to balance out,
there were three for seventeen in the second half from
long range. They never adjusted, and when the game got
to fifteen going into the fourth quarter, I said, this
is a game. This is a game, and the Knicks
simply walked them down. And then we saw once again,
(20:47):
I just look the Aaron Fox putting the ball in
the Aaron Fox's hands as many times as they did.
I know Dylan Harper is a rookie. I would not
have continued to put the ball in in the Aaron's hands.
And simply he might be the he might be the veteran,
he might be the veteran guard among what they have,
(21:09):
but the reality is he's only been to the playoffs
once before. Asking him to close out a game in
the playoffs is more than I would do at this
at this stage, especially if he's still hampered by the ankle.
So a lot of credit to go around for. I mean, honestly,
watching the first half, I was like, man, san Antonio
(21:32):
has identified the offensive weak points for the New York
Knicks and they're exploiting that and that may change this series.
And then we got to the second half and the
youth of the san Antonios pert showed up again and
it was like, oh, this is why they were down
two to one in the series to begin with.
Speaker 5 (21:51):
Well, let's go to the brilliant o Giannaobi flying in.
Don't they teach in in basic grade school basketball? Hey,
keep an eye on the inbounder.
Speaker 8 (22:03):
Yeah, well, usually it's for us for a shot. But again,
Aaron Fox was in the in It was his play.
He came over from guarding the inbound and I really
didn't understand why you're gonna double team or try to
double team Jalen Brunson at what twenty seven to twenty
eight feet You're not he had too far to come.
(22:24):
I don't know if that was I'd find it hard
to believe that Mitch Johnson said we're gonna we're gonna
double team Jalen that far away from the basket. But
it was Daron coming over that gave Jalen a free
run and then Dylan Harper wasn't wasn't boxing anybody out,
(22:46):
and that's what that's what created the opportunity. But again,
I just lack of execution, lack of understanding exactly what
you have to do in those situations, the San Antonio spurs,
lack of experience and how to close out playoff games.
Reard ats ugly head once again.
Speaker 5 (23:02):
Is o g Nnobi now the greatest nick of all time?
He is tonight with that second half shooting plus those
two plays at the end of the game, Rick, I mean,
that's the stuff statues are built on.
Speaker 8 (23:16):
It's really it's it's interesting because we've, like, you know,
we've talked a little bit about this, Can you win
a championship with Jalen Brunson as your best player? And
you could look at this, you could look at this
series and say, no, you can't. But that doesn't mean
that the Knicks can't win because is performing like that
(23:38):
best player or you get sort of like the Warriors
when they had Steph It's like you get multiple contributions
from from guys that, uh that less than the responsibility
of the sixth the six foot guy who's your your
go to closer.
Speaker 4 (23:55):
Well, well, let let's be fair here. You know, I
told you Jalen Brunson was terrible the first three games
of this series. He was fantastic.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
Tonight he just he missed that shot at the end,
but Anonobe with a tipping but outside that he shot
while he didn't turn the ball over.
Speaker 4 (24:08):
This was This was his best game.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
And twenty nine point comebacks don't don't come unless your
best players is starting to hit shots like he did.
Speaker 8 (24:16):
He had a very good game. I still don't know
if I would say that he like you know, and
this gets into sort of the definition of when we
say that this guy was the best player and and
won the series like he did his part without question,
but the contribution of Anenobe and what they're getting from
(24:38):
from other places, it's it's it's not a domin it
was I would say this, it was a really good performance.
I don't know that Jalen Brunson, even tonight will this
being his best performance, dominated the game. He did what
he had to do to help the the Vicks win.
Speaker 5 (24:55):
It.
Speaker 8 (24:55):
Can we leave it at that?
Speaker 5 (24:56):
Sure, fifteen second half of Brunson, Let's just go to
the structure that is Madison Square Garden. What was wrong
with the shooting angles and vision on that end of
the court because both teams were terrible.
Speaker 8 (25:10):
Yeah, I don't know. I'd have to look at the
seating chart and see exactly which Hollywood stars were down
there that were potentially distracting the players. I don't know.
Speaker 4 (25:23):
It's a good to it.
Speaker 8 (25:25):
I don't have any not being in the building.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
I got nothing for you.
Speaker 4 (25:30):
What gremlins were on that end?
Speaker 2 (25:32):
Yeah, So.
Speaker 4 (25:35):
Let's go back to another moment. Rick.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
You know, we talked about the d' aaron Fox play.
No matter what, no matter how bad things were going
for the Spurs offensively. In the third quarter, it's a
twenty nine point lead and Wenby gets called for the
flagrant foul, and if you want to look for an
inflection point, the Knicks outscored the Spurs from that point
on fifty five twenty five. Now, I don't know if
it was where it pissed the Knicks off. I don't
(25:58):
know if this was where they sent a little bit
or they sensed up a little bit of screw it.
We finally got this call on Wemby. The Garden comes alive,
but it was just different from that moment on, and
it shouldn't have been. It should be Okay, yeah, Webby
gots a flagrant, that's great, it's a twenty nine point devisit.
But things were different from that point on.
Speaker 8 (26:16):
Yeah, you know what, what I felt early on was
that they they were looking to the rest to make
a call. They got too wound up, either begging for
calls or looking at the rest. I just thought that
they were they were distracted looking for calls rather than
just playing the game. And to your point, I don't
know whether that changed their mindset or their temperament or
(26:39):
is like, okay, we got one, you know what, let's
let's just play now.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
But but yeah, that was it was.
Speaker 8 (26:46):
It's interesting, and it's especially interesting because of all the
kind of the back and forth and some of the
stuff that Wemby has done. And he's one He's one
more flagrant foul away from missing a game, if I'm
not mistake. Yeah, So that that was I thought that
was interesting, getting that even prior to the Knicks winning
(27:08):
this game. I think, even at too two, if Brett
Wembley's on the on the verge of missing a game,
that could that could ultimately swing this series, and then
it wasn't necessary to think about that anymore because the
Knicks did it themselves.
Speaker 5 (27:21):
Twenty nine point nine deficit. Nick storm Back. I had
the video component of Jason Smith losing his mind, and
I really, I really thought, see what But here's how
the world changes, Rick. We started tonight. As we came
on air, things were just absolutely horrid. You saw the
floating dumpster fire and the Knicks are dead, dead in
(27:42):
the water, and people are texting me and tweeting at me,
going make sure you check in on your guy. How's
Jays going to be? Two hours later, I'm getting those texts.
How are you going to get through the next two
hours with him bouncing off walls?
Speaker 4 (27:58):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (27:59):
Yeah, I'm down three to one? Has hope been extinguished?
Now we've watched these Spurs all three losses, you can
say we're winnable games and that youth inexperience showing its head?
Speaker 6 (28:11):
Is this? It?
Speaker 4 (28:12):
Is it a wrap? On Saturday?
Speaker 8 (28:15):
I would fully expect that San Antonio can get another win.
I would then fully expect that the Knicks. I think
this leaves the mark. I think this anytime, and we've
seen it multiple times, a team gives up a lead
of this size, now you feel like no lead is
ever safe, and so you can get it to eighteen
(28:38):
twenty twenty two. And as soon as the other team
scores a couple bucks in buckets in a row, the
nerves kick in and that momentum builds quickly. I just
I don't see a way in which San Antonio has
the ability to win three games in a row. So
I don't know that it's necessarily closed in five. I
(28:58):
certainly do not believe It'sntonio Spurs are going to roll over.
We've we've already they already demonstrated that coming in UH
with UH and winning Game three, So I'm not expecting that.
But I also don't believe that the Spurs have the
requisitibility whatever you want to point to, have the requisitibility
(29:20):
to win three in a row to salvage this series.
So yes, it's a matter of it's a matter of when,
not if. For the New York Knicks.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
Words, Rick Bucker never thought he'd say for five hundred please, Alex.
Speaker 8 (29:35):
Uh, now you know what that is correct?
Speaker 4 (29:38):
For this year?
Speaker 8 (29:40):
That is correct.
Speaker 1 (29:43):
Now, I want to take you all the way back
to eight months ago, and by that I mean, the
first two minutes of the game tonight, let's go all
the way back. Kat gets called for that first foul
against the Aaron Fox, which did look like any contact,
and then the play that flipped the entire game. Kat
goes in and Wemby commits a foul. They go and look,
(30:03):
not only do they overturn it, they give Kat the
second foul. He's got to be on the bench. The
Spurs go out to a big role. The Knicks wanted
somebody to save them. What did you make of those
those two calls officiating wise in the first couple minutes
of the game, and we thought the game was going
to go one way.
Speaker 8 (30:18):
Honestly, I didn't have a problem with them. I you
could you could argue that. I mean, for there's always
the first couple of calls are to establish how the
game's going to be called.
Speaker 6 (30:28):
And uh.
Speaker 8 (30:29):
And the fact is that Carl was late getting over
and has one of one of the things that has
plagued him that has not plagued him for the most
part in he's playoffs is he picks up a lot
of dumb fouls and UH. And there's times where your beat,
you're you're not going to get back. You got to
(30:49):
give that up. And uh, and I thought it was legit.
I mean, I thought that the the the turning, the
overturning the call with with Wemby, he was the right call.
The questionable one was was there enough contact on that
first play? But if he gets one foul early, okay,
that's bad. But he's then got to realize, I have
(31:11):
one foul in the first minute of the game. I
can't get a second one. And and that's where Carl
has often got himself into trouble. So I'm not I'm
not pointing to that and thinking that that was one.
Speaker 4 (31:24):
That was not the reason that.
Speaker 8 (31:25):
The that the Spurs got off to the start that
they did. They were they had a lot else going on.
They were shooting it well. The Knicks once again looked
frazzled in terms of their execution. It just compounded things
that that Carl was not on the floor because clearly
what they wanted to do game plan wise was establish
(31:46):
him early because he hadn't They hadn't been able to
do that in in Game three and that and he
can be a difference maker. But as far as those
two calls I got, I don't have it. I don't
have an issue with it. I would say this game
was officiated better than Game three was. And and part
(32:07):
of the challenge for these referees was the way that
Game three was called, because now it was you know,
guys are trying everything to see exactly where the line
is and uh, and it made a real challenge for
Zach Darby and his crew to establish that line. But
I thought I thought they were like they no bones
(32:27):
about it. We don't care, like we don't care that
that that, uh, these calls may be favoring the visitors
or any of that. We're gonna we're gonna call it
as to see it. We're gonna try to keep control
of this game from getting out of hand. And let's
face it, the Knicks were picked.
Speaker 4 (32:42):
Off at Wemby.
Speaker 8 (32:43):
They were trying all kinds of things that that were
technically fouls. The one on Holy Alvarado like he found him,
found him five six times. They finally blew the whistle.
So I think they were just trying to not let
this let the Knicks bully their way uh to a win,
and I and the Knicks didn't need it.
Speaker 4 (33:04):
Ultimately, He's on Twitter at Rick Buker.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
That is at Rick Buker, the On the Ball podcast,
and of all the years on the show, the phrase
it's just a matter of when, not if for the Knicks,
the most unbelievable things that he has ever said, probably
in his basketball life.
Speaker 4 (33:23):
Rick, Thanks so much, as always, buddy. We'll talk to
you next week. Rick.
Speaker 5 (33:31):
Yeah, a matter of fact, Yeah, trying to get those
words out, Jason. I mean you could tell Rick, you know,
he really thought about it and walked around a bit
before he came on.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific.
Speaker 1 (33:53):
You know, a minute like we've done here on the
show me and Mike, uh is to go certain things
at a time, is to go, hey, let's talk about
this year, because then you wind up doing a stream
of consciouness radio in which would be easy to do
with this game and play this play is play. Uh,
But a couple of things to focus on here. We
got Rick Bucker coming up in twenty minutes, and I'll
tell you what he said something the other night on
(34:15):
the show that comes back and comes home to rus
which we'll get to but two of the biggest things
from this game, right, the Spurs have a huge lead
Karl Anthony Towns and foul trouble beginning of the game.
The Knicks don't recover from it. The Spurs get out
to a huge lead at halftimes, twenty nine point lead.
In the middle of the third quarter, you're looking for
an inflection point for the comeback for the Knicks. Victor
(34:37):
Webbin Yama gets called for a flagrant foul on Karl
Anthony Towns and at the time, it looked like it
was just a throw away moment, right, It didn't look
like it didn't look like it rose to the level
of a flagrant foul. However, they had just called one
on Mitchell Robinson earlier in the game for an elbow
that caught Wemby.
Speaker 4 (34:55):
Up in the neck. So this was an elbow by Wembd.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
It wasn't can't say it wasn't a foul, but it
it was an elbow that caught Karl Anthony Towns under
the chin.
Speaker 4 (35:03):
And I am sure, because I know psychology, I know people,
I'm sure.
Speaker 1 (35:07):
At that point, the NBA said, yeah, okay, we can
give Wenby a flagrant on this we kind of biffed
it not giving him the flagrant on the Jalen Brunson
play from two nights ago. Yeah, but so we kind
of owe him one, so we can give him the
flagrant here, right, what's the damage? The Spurs are up
twenty nine flagrant foul?
Speaker 4 (35:22):
What does it matter?
Speaker 1 (35:24):
The Knicks out scored the Spurs from that moment fifty
five to twenty five. You're looking for the inflection point
of where things started. It was right there, that moment
right there. I don't know if that's where the Knicks
decided we're gonna keep playing. Where the Knicks said, now
we're pissed.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
But to see even at that point, Mike, to see
a twenty nine point deficit, that even hey, all right.
Speaker 1 (35:45):
Fine that we get the foul. Hey, okay, we're looking
for positivity. I can't believe that the Knicks said, yeah,
let's go expend all this energy in a comeback because
this is just not our night.
Speaker 4 (35:56):
Whatever it is, this is just not our night.
Speaker 3 (35:59):
And not only do the come back and make it
worthwhile they win the bleeping game, Like, but you want
to go back and find the inflection point for the
beginning of this comeback the beginning of this story. That's
where it starts right now. That Wemby flagrant in the
third quarter.
Speaker 5 (36:12):
Yeah, I mean we talked about it as it developed,
and it didn't really look egregious on the grand scheme.
The Mitchell Robinson more a forearm shivered to the next
So you know the physicality that we thought would come
against Wembin Yama.
Speaker 4 (36:27):
There it was in that moment.
Speaker 5 (36:28):
We saw a lot of little micro pieces and stuff.
And certainly after the Robinson you had Wembin Yama sitting
on the ground laughing at him saying, I'm in your head.
Well cut to the chase that for the Knicks, I
think what they heard the first two games, everybody said, hey,
everybody heard, you're the champions, and patting everybody on the back. Right,
(36:50):
Karl Anthony Towns getting the great hug that's been awaiting
him and recognizing his ten years in the year in
the league. Jalen Bronson hadn't played well, but came up
big in Game one and Game two and big moments. Right,
So all of that you read your press clipping, So
all of a sudden, everybody swung the other way. We
had a kind of a listless effort for a good
(37:11):
chunk of the early part of Game three. A lot
of excuse making, right Ah, there's you know, political folks
in Ah. It was tough to get in all of
this as opposed to just say, you know, we played badly,
we lost, and for this it was a no show
effort in the first half. I think someone at least
in the locker room, and I'd like to and I
(37:32):
can't wait to hear it in the post. I gotta
think someone at least did a Will Ferrell, slammed a
locker and said we gotta keep our composure and actually
play the basketball, because otherwise, what's the fish rap gonna
look like tomorrow? If they'd lost this game, even if
they'd lost by one, right, they were gonna wear it.
And for all of these guys, that's all they've done
as members of the New York Knicks, is they've had
(37:54):
to wear it time and time again. I mean, it's
fifty three years of it, it's twenty seven years of it.
Pick your timeline of all of this. It was gonna
be same old Knicks if they lost this game. And
I gotta think at least on some level they said,
all right, we're at least not gonna go down literally
without a fight. And then I can go into the
cacophony of voices now raising up against the Spurs because
(38:18):
there's a million things they did wrong to leave that
door a cracked, to allow the Knicks to come and
just storm the castle.
Speaker 4 (38:25):
Now you mentioned that, and that's where we have to
get to this play right here. This is where.
Speaker 1 (38:29):
Look, we talked to guys on the show all the time.
When I say Rick Buker, and you talk about when
I say there's no one better to talk basketball with
than Rick Buker, I mean, look, we have guys him
and Mark Stein on the show. Rick Buker said this
to us now the last couple of times we've had
him on, and he had said watching watching the NBA Finals.
Still there's times to him where the Spurs play too fast,
(38:52):
where they're too fast, where he says, I'm standing up
and I'm just saying, guys, slow it down, slow it down.
I don't like that he's coaching against the Knicks, but
I get what he's doing.
Speaker 5 (38:59):
Well, It's like me again, I'm not cheering against your Knicks.
I hate watching bad sports, bad basketball, And as soon
as you're dumb on either side.
Speaker 4 (39:08):
We're gonna call it out here on the radio.
Speaker 1 (39:11):
So you say, guys, slow it down, slow it down,
slow it down. Right, I've seen, you know, slow it down.
They go too fast, They play too fast a lot
and go back to the next to last sequence in
this game, right, the next to last sequence where the
Knicks worked down by one and they had the ball
(39:31):
and they don't get a great shot off and the
ball gets tipped out deep into the Knicks backcourt. Daron Fox,
who has alternately killed the Spurs in this series. Right,
to be fair, like Daron Fox a terrific player, but wow,
there's been times where his decision making he has absolutely
killed the Spurs. Right, the ball is loose, and as
(39:53):
an NBA player, you have to know this. He's been
the league right long enough now to know the situation.
In theory, you can say, when you're racing to you know,
backcourt to get the ball, this could be a breakaway
layup for me in a three point lead. But he's
got to know when I'm getting the ball and Hunobi
is back right, because you want to talk about Antobe
making a play before the play, yeah, right, and Hunobi
(40:16):
is back when dearon Fox gets that ball and he
tries to just take a step and rush for a layup.
This is where as an NBA and like I said,
the guy's been in the league for a long time.
You gotta know, Okay, the defender is there, I'm out
of control. I need to dribble this back out, take
time off the clock, make the Knicks foul, and I'm
(40:36):
going to the free throw line up an eighty percent
shooter from the free throw line, and I'm getting to
the free throw line to try to win this game.
There's a lot of chaos happening right now, and the
defender is here, and oh, by the way, it's one
of the top defenders in the NBA. And Oganunobi, right,
you got to make a better decision. But he plays
too fast and he decides to go in for the layup.
I can make this game winning play.
Speaker 4 (40:56):
And what happens.
Speaker 1 (40:57):
Anunobi rejects it. The Knicks get the ball, they get
the ball cross half court, they call time out. Brunson
shot Anunobi on there from there. But you want to
go back and talk about what a horrible decision that
was for de Aaron Fox, You're gonna hear the play
and this is where the If you are the Spurs,
the one play in this game that you want back
is this one.
Speaker 4 (41:17):
That's a fack Brunson on the drive to pull.
Speaker 3 (41:19):
This up, Chuck on go rebound deplected in the back court.
Speaker 4 (41:23):
Fox, that's a chance.
Speaker 2 (41:24):
To get it.
Speaker 3 (41:24):
Fox hasn't Insunoby.
Speaker 4 (41:28):
Mine secondsmading.
Speaker 1 (41:31):
Next radio on the call and as we know from there,
the big shot the play by Anonobi. The Spurs can't
get a hoop at the other end with one second left,
but that watching that play, I guarantee you we'll talk
to Rick Buker in in five minutes more, ten minutes, Mike,
and he's gonna say I told them they play too fast.
Speaker 4 (41:46):
I keep telling them they play too fast. They won't
listen to me.
Speaker 5 (41:49):
It's funny, I tweeted out just the first of what
will be a nine part missive of the mistakes of
the Spurs and that lad that led it. So the
fact that we're talking about it right now leading into
our conversation with Rick, let's go back to it. O
Gianoba a fantastic play right as he closes out and
he's back and how many times do we see the
Knicks that when it wasn't Brunson. Think about Josh Hart,
(42:11):
Think about Alvarado. Think about all the Knick players going
down into the low post. How many times did they
cut and turn back out if they knew that the
shot was gonna get challenged, whether Wenby was already back
or whatever. Live to find a better shot, a better sequence,
and a better opportunity to finish. Darn Fox, who we've
called into in the question a number of times over
(42:31):
these four games, Jason, another one of those you know what,
let Ananobi fly by ball fake, let him fall into you,
get to the file line, or just cut back and
extend it, make them chase you down instead. The ball
ends in Alvarado's hands. Eventually, Fox commits the file at
five point four seconds as we set up in the
(42:53):
front court, and away we go. But yeah, it's another
decision of along with all of the quick three point shots,
which is a whole other, uh you know, level of chaos,
But in that particular moment, yeah, slow down, stop for you.
It's like, that's great because that's who they are. I mean,
they actually because Jason, they average twenty five years of age.
(43:17):
I mean, they just don't know and and darreon Fox
played a lot with the Kings. He's not been in
these situations.
Speaker 7 (43:23):
No, it.
Speaker 4 (43:25):
Is a new thing. It isn't. But I mean that's
where But but you've played a long time. You have
to know that the end of games like that's what
he did. You have to do right.
Speaker 1 (43:32):
You can't just you can't. I mean, I'm gonna try
to make this heroic play. If it was a tie
game or you were down one, I get it. But
you have the lead, right, j R.
Speaker 4 (43:41):
Smith? You gotta know the situation of the game. Is
that not right for j R? Smith?
Speaker 5 (43:47):
J R.
Speaker 4 (43:48):
Smith Smith's huge boner?
Speaker 3 (43:52):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (43:52):
I mean that he was there, I think too.
Speaker 1 (43:55):
I think everybody who has ever played for the Knicks
was at the game tonight, except I know there's any
but guys are I think Steve Novak was at the game.
Speaker 4 (44:02):
Did anybody walk in with.
Speaker 5 (44:03):
An Oakley one of those coolly fabricated masks like Cranston
had at that comic cond that times Eisenberg?
Speaker 4 (44:11):
Is anybody? Because I had to come as Oakley?
Speaker 1 (44:12):
Yet I think if you try to come in even
wearing Charles Oakley gear, you're not allowed it.
Speaker 4 (44:16):
Okay. I don't even a no, no, they trade you
out for a new one. No no, no, no. Here
you can't wear this, wear this one. But I mean
we see a lot of insane old nicktures.
Speaker 5 (44:28):
That's one of my favorite things on Football Sundays, or
if you go to your favorite ballyard. I remember we
went to a bar here in the Los Angeles. It
was a Bears bar, and just seeing the fifty years
of jerseys on display, it's like, Wow, they got you
for that guy. He played two games man, But yeah,
j R. Smith is invoked here in the memory there.
Speaker 1 (44:53):
I mean, like that's a play where if you talk
about all the things the Spurs want back, yea like
the because it's a decision. It's not a play, it's
a decision. That's why what you would want Wemby's missed
free throws back right, Like I mean the guy after
Josh Hart misses a layup that was going to give
the Knicks the lead. I know, right he got that's
a bad decision. That's a decision. That's what they would
have looked back at had the Knicks lost this game. Like, dude,
(45:15):
you're going into dunket. I know that he felt that
Steph Castle was behind him, but just dunk it. That
would have been the play. The Knicks fans going, that
would have been it, right, But Wenby like, okay, he
missed two free throws, Like it's not like anything. It
was a bad decision. He missed two free throws. This
was a decision that the Aaron Fox has to make
him know the situation, man, like, you gotta know. This
is where when the Knicks took a two games to
(45:36):
none lead, we said, this is why I said I
want the Knicks playing the Spurs instead of the Knicks
playing the Thunder because the Spurs haven't been here, not
like the Knicks have been there.
Speaker 4 (45:44):
But the Knicks have been through the wars of.
Speaker 1 (45:46):
Eastern Conference second round and Eastern Conference Finals the last
couple of years at least they've been through that. This
is a huge, you know, new run for the Spurs
to get back saying, oh wow, this is it. Everything
is new for them. So I knew at the end
of games that it was gonna favor the Knicks and
this falls into that as well, Like that's a that's
a play that you know a team has to know.
(46:06):
You have to make the right call there instead of
playing too fast and that's the Spurs did, and that's
why the Spurs sitting back, why they're down. They're going
We've been the better team for the better part of
this entire series and we're going home down three to one.
Like that's where the Spurs have to sit there and say,
what can we possibly do now? How can we possibly
win this series with what we've seen so far?
Speaker 5 (46:25):
Aaron Fox came into the league in twenty seventeen, and
then we've got to close the circle, right because we
talked about coach cal and the happiness and celebratory moment
with Karl Anthony Towns.
Speaker 4 (46:38):
Does he have to go to the other locker room
and go hug dearon Fox Now? Oh yeah, I think so.
I mean, we got it.
Speaker 5 (46:44):
You're gonna have both ends, right. We gotta keep balance
in the force.
Speaker 4 (46:48):
Just awful. Yeah, exit, how about a Fresca exit swollen Dome.
Speaker 1 (46:52):
The Jason Smith Show with Mike Carmon Live from the
Fox Sports Radio studios, coming up next. Fox Sports One
insider Rick Bucker stops by. He gets his flowers for
calling it on the Spurs three and four days ago. Uh,
we are continuing. We'll hear from some of the big
particulars from the game Brunson and Unobe, Mike Brown, Mitch Johnson.
(47:12):
Dearon Fox if he actually speaks.
Speaker 5 (47:14):
I got more for you though, before we get out, though, God,
have you thanked your your savior Dan Housen yet today?
Speaker 4 (47:22):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (47:22):
In the Wu Tank Klan, Wu Tank Klan, Wu Tank
Clan from Staten Island, where I from, where I grew up,
from Staten Island, Wu Tank Clan.
Speaker 4 (47:30):
Okay, there you go. Okay, there we go.
Speaker 1 (47:32):
That's coming up next right here, Jason and Mike Fox
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Hosts And Creators
Jason Smith
Mike Harmon
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