Brown seemed impressed by his team's ability to fight through adversity.
The New York Knicks came into Wednesday night's game against the Utah Jazz needing a win in the worst way, and despite falling behind by 18 points in the first half, they got one in convincing fashion, pulling away for a 134-117 victory in Salt Lake City.
Head coach Mike Brown had a lot to say about why the second half looked so different from the first, and his postgame quote painted a pretty clear picture of how his team turned things around.
"We had just four turnovers in the second half, giving up four points off those turnovers, and then we gave up just five fast-break points in the second half," Brown said.
"And that was the difference in the game. We gave ourselves an opportunity to shoot the basketball. And when we did, it obviously went in."
A Rough Start Before the Rally
The Jazz came out firing from three-point range to start the game, hitting 11 of their first 13 attempts from deep and building a lead that ballooned to as many as 18 in the second quarter.
For a Knicks team that had just been embarrassed in back-to-back losses in Los Angeles, it felt like the same old story was playing out again on the road.
But the second half brought a completely different energy, and Brown's group locked in defensively in a way they had not for most of their West Coast trip.
New York tightened up ball security, limited Utah's transition opportunities, and let their offense do the rest, shooting 52 percent from the field and knocking down 17 three-pointers as a team.
Brunson, Clarkson Lead the Charge
Jalen Brunson led the way with 28 points, eight assists, and three steals in 33 minutes, continuing what has been an outstanding season for the All-Star point guard who is averaging 26.2 points and 6.5 assists per game.
The bigger story, though, might have been Jordan Clarkson, who exploded for 27 points off the bench against his former team and played a huge role in fueling the comeback with his scoring and playmaking in the second half.
OG Anunoby chipped in 22 points while Karl-Anthony Towns added 21 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists in what was truly a team effort once the Knicks found their groove.
Brice Sensabaugh led the Jazz with 29 points and Ace Bailey added 21, but Utah could not keep up the hot shooting once New York adjusted on defense.
What's Been Going Wrong for the Knicks
The win improved New York's record to 42-25 on the season, keeping them firmly in third place in the Eastern Conference, but it came after a stretch that had a lot of people asking hard questions about this team's ability to compete at the highest level.
The Knicks dropped games to the Los Angeles Lakers (110-97) and Los Angeles Clippers (126-118) earlier in the week, and turnovers were the main problem in both losses.
New York committed 18 turnovers against the Lakers and followed that up with 20 against the Clippers, giving up a combined 43 points off those giveaways in the two defeats.
Brown was vocal after the Clippers loss about the need to control the ball better, and his players clearly got the message against Utah, especially in the second half when they cleaned up their biggest issue and flipped the game on its head.
Looking Ahead
Utah dropped to 20-46 with the loss, sitting 14th in the Western Conference, and while the result was never going to shock anyone, the way the Knicks pulled it off says something about their ability to respond when things go wrong.
New York heads to Indiana on Friday to face the Pacers, and if they can carry over the same ball security and defensive effort that Brown has been pushing for all season, this team still has a chance to make some noise in the postseason.
For now, though, Brown wants the team to take care of the ball, limit easy buckets for the other team, and let the talent on this roster handle the rest.