NBA FINALS: KNICKS VS. SPURS

June 3, 2026

Dylan Harper

San Antonio Spurs

Game 1: Postgame

Knicks 105, Spurs 95

Q. You've faced a lot of downhill guards this postseason. What is it about Jalen, what does he do differently? What did he do tonight?

DYLAN HARPER: Yeah, I mean, I think Jalen's a great guard, All-Star guard. He's going to get to his spots regardless. It's kind of how he picks his angles, gets to his spots. He probably does it beyond the best.

For us, doubling down on our game plan, what we always stuck to as a defense. We'll be better next game.

Q. You won the first game against Oklahoma City Thunder. What do you think it changes about the dynamic of a series when the road team wins?

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

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

Q. Do you guys think y'all got a little bit fatigued in the fourth quarter? Big series with Oklahoma City. Knicks were fresh.

DYLAN HARPER: I feel like both teams were fatigued really. I feel like they just kind of executed a little bit better. They just executed on their plays. At the end of the game they kind of just, as I just said, executed.

It was more like a track meet today. I think the energy was high. I feel like everyone was just getting up and down. I feel like both teams was fatigued.

Q. What can you do to get that fixed by Game 2?

DYLAN HARPER: We're going to watch the film. There are a lot of controllables on our end. I don't feel like we held ourselves to the highest standard. I feel like we let a lot of those slip away from us. We're going to be better, bounce back. We just got to keep staying positive.

Q. Did they show you anything different in the second half after you had such a great first half?

DYLAN HARPER: It was pretty much the same. I think for me, I just got to keep on staying aggressive. I got to keep on just keeping my foot on the gas.

But I feel like it was kind of the same thing. I feel like some shots didn't go in for us, some shots went in for them.

Q. Victor said he's not kicking himself about anything. He isn't worried about anything. How does it make you feel as a team that he's confident with moving forward?

DYLAN HARPER: Yeah, I think we're all confident. I feel like that is kind of who he is. He never backs down from the moment. He always kind of steps up and meets it.

We're also confident. But we have a chip on our shoulder from this game we just lost. You never want to lose. I feel like going into the next game, we're going to be even hungrier, keep on improving.