NBA FINALS: KNICKS VS. SPURS

June 10, 2026

Karl-Anthony Towns

Jose Alvarado

New York Knicks

Game 4: Postgame

New York Knicks 107, San Antonio Spurs 106

Q. Karl, can you talk about the mental roller coaster of this game from the first half to the second half to the crowd getting in it and kind of going through it with you?

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: Man, shoutout to our fans, man. They stuck with us. It was an ugly, ugly game. We didn't bring it in the first half.

But they stuck with us. They stayed in them seats and they kept cheering for us and they kept finding ways to give us energy. This is a testament to them, the grit, the resiliency, the way of New York. We, from the mud, found a way to get it done in the first half. As anyone who lives in New York knows, if you want to make it in this city, you have to be okay getting it out off the mud, and we did that tonight.

Q. The OG shot is going to go down -- that offensive rebound going to go down as one of the greatest in NBA history.

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: Right hand from God.

Q. What does it say about him as a player to come up big in that way in the moment?

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: That's OG, though.

JOSE ALVARADO: He's been doing it this whole playoff run. Shoutout to him for crashing the board and doing something special.

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: That's why every time we’re in the game with OG, third quarter, second quarter, he may not be feeling like he's playing his best. Every time I talk to him, I say, I already know what OG Anunoby is going to do in the fourth quarter, and he did exactly what I thought he would do. He gave us a chance to win, and that's all you could ask for from the best two-way player in the NBA.

Q. The whole season, the bench, you talk about the players, that everybody contributes. Jose, tonight you played in the fourth quarter out there. What does it mean for you, Jose, to play the fourth quarter the way you did to help this win? And on a lighter note, as you guys prepare for the Spurs what do the guys like Tyler and Ariel do on the scout team and who plays Wemby?

JOSE ALVARADO: First of all, you know, I think we all stay together, connected, and we believe in each other. That's the main thing.

Playing the fourth quarter, that's something when you play this game, that's where you want to play at, fourth quarter. So shoutout to our bench, all those guys you just mentioned, played a huge, huge role today, and we all stepped up when our number was called. You know, we glad we got the good job done today.

Q. For both you guys, not the first time you guys have come back from down big in the first half. Just wondering for both you guys, halftime comes, Mike Brown said he didn't show any film and the coaches didn't show any film. What was going through your minds when you were trailing at 29 at the half and did anybody say anything to incite the run that you guys went on?

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: For us, when we got in there at halftime, we understood we were disappointed with the performance we had in the first half. That's, of course, the result of walking in.

But I've always talked about the unity and the connectivity of this team. Went in there, people spoke up. Jose, just saying, regardless how the result of the game comes out, we can't at least not work on our standards and be who we are.

JOSE ALVARADO: Yeah.

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: For me, I brought up experience. I said last year, we were in this situation two games in a row in Boston and we found a way to get it done. You know, experience teaches you a lot, and I think experience today let us know that we cannot let go of the rope. We always have a chance if we go out there and take it to another level and give ourselves a chance. All you can ask for after the half we had is just we just wanted a chance.

You know, sometimes you get lucky. Sometimes you make your luck. We made our luck today.

JOSE ALVARADO: Yeah, and to feed off what he was saying, basically I went in there at halftime and said, regardless of the outcome, these next 24 minutes, we better bring it and show them how we really play basketball, and that's what we did.

Obviously, the outcome, we won. But regardless, we needed to come out strong because we got another game to play over there. So we needed to show them these next 24 minutes, that first half was a fluke.

Q. You're both local guys. To be at Madison Square Garden and feel what that was at the end, just nobody left the arena and the craziness out there. What were you feeling? Did you even realize what's happening?

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: No, I've seen people leave before the game was over at MSG, watching on MSG Network before.

I think for me, you could see my reaction, the emotion, it kind of spilled out of that moment. It was tears of joy, you know. Just it wasn't boo-hoo or anything, just tears of joy, because like I say, all you can do is ask for a chance.

And for me personally, I just wanted one break in life. And I got one. I got one at that last play with OG making the shot and us getting the stop. I just wanted one break in life, just one thing to go my way, one time, and I'm glad it did. I'm glad it did for us, man. God is good, man.

JOSE ALVARADO: You said it, two kids from here, right. I'm not going to sugarcoat this: I was about to cry, not because -- obviously there is one more, but I'm at Madison Square Garden, end of the fourth quarter, playing with these guys, and we’re playing for something special.

I was just -- I was just excited. It's really something I couldn't put in words. And like I said, we could get excited and enjoy this, but we got one more to do.

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: For sure.

JOSE ALVARADO: So that's the main goal, the next game.

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: To add what he had to say, I felt for all of y'all who were at the game, obviously, you could feel the abundance of joy at one time from everyone at one time, the collective joy that came out of everybody for that one moment, to hear the buzzer going off and not to see the ball go in the basket, I think we all felt something, like that emotion that was special. It's something that MSG hasn't had that kind of moment in a long time, so shoutout to our fans for real.

Q. Mike Brown came out here and applauded Jose, and I don't know who, but some people joined in. There was applause for you in this room, like 15 minutes ago. You came in, and talked about the crowd, wow, special. Talk what you see in this room, what you feel?

JOSE ALVARADO: It's crazy, 2026 Finals behind me. Just to be part of the journey is amazing. I appreciate, you know, Coach and everybody giving me my flowers, but this is what I worked hard for, to be in moments like this and shine with it.

So I'm glad it went our way today, and I’ll definitely remember this for the rest of my life. But you know, next game, this is the next game, man. We've got to worry about when we play over there.

Q. You've played with a lot of guards. What's special about Jose?

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: I mean, it's tough for me to be a Dominican talking about a Puerto Rican like this but he's --

JOSE ALVARADO: I knew that was coming.

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: Man, when you talk about somebody who not only lives up to the moment but plays with his emotion, and utilizes that to his advantage, that's a rare quality. You know, a lot of times, you play with a lot of people and they play with emotion but it gets the better of them. For Jose, that emotion is what drives him and makes him take it to another level.

He's a special player. His tenacity, his defensive ability and his offensive ability that I got to see firsthand when D-Lo asked, could he shoot, and now I know, he really can shoot. It's special.

He has so much to his basketball game that people don't give credit to, and I'm glad on this stage on a night like this, he was able to show the world what he can do when he's given a chance. And Jose Alvarado clearly told everyone in the world tonight he's a big-time player.

That's a Dominican person saying that.