Indianapolis be witness of New York greatness.

Knicks at Hicks.

Game 6.

Here’s what Coach Thibs and many other Knickerbockers and Pacers (what’s even a Pacer?) have said leading up to the final game of the series played in Indianapolis.

Tom Thibodeau

On Knicks’ two-way effort in Game 6:

“I thought the aggressiveness of Jalen and KAT to start offensively and then the group being tied together defensively (was significant). Then when the bench came in, they did the same thing.”

On defensive improvements:

“Sometimes it’s a combination of [Haliburton] missing some shots he normally makes, but our guys were tied together and tried to make him work for everything. That’s what you have to do. You have to fight to win every possession.”

On the Knicks’ turnover issues:

“It’s not just [Towns]. The big thing is keeping it simple. The first open man, hit him. Oftentimes, the intent is good, but we’re trying to thread the needle and we can’t do that.”

Karl-Anthony Towns

On the Knicks’ mindset entering Game 6:

“We have no more room for error. It’s our backs against the wall, and every game is do or die. So, if we don’t bring that energy, we don’t bring that execution, our season will be over.”

On the defensive game plan:

“In this series, we haven’t lacked scoring, it has been more about us not stopping them from scoring. I think tonight we did a great job of upping the pressure and making sure we were making it more difficult for them to get open looks and get those shots that they got comfortable with last game. It’s a testament to our team answering the call.”

On Brunson’s defense and leadership:

“[Brunson] did an amazing job. That’s something that cap always does – he answers the call every time. We win as a team, we lose as a team. I’m never going to allow cap — he does so much for us and we ask so much out of him every game — he’s never going to go out there and take all the blame. We all do. Family and brothers never let someone go out there and take all the blame. We all got to be willing to lose together and win together.”

Jalen Brunson

On Game 6 readiness:

“As soon as the ball is tossed up in the air, we’ve got to be ready to go. That’s our mindset.”

On the better team defensive effort in Game 5:

“We picked up our intensity a little bit. We paid attention to detail better as a team. The little things go a long way.”

On dealing better with Haliburton:

“I feel like we picked up our intensity a little bit. I think we paid attention to detail better as a team. The little things go a long way. Paying attention to the minute things, and things that don’t seem like a huge deal, they really do help.”

On Delon Wright and Landry Shamet’s impact:

“I’ve known Delon since playing with him in Dallas. I know what he brings to the table regardless. … It’s a credit to their work ethic, the work they do and being professionals that they are. So, I have a lot of respect for them and I’m happy they came in and did what they did.”

Miles McBride

On Josh Hart’s bounce-back:

“Obviously, the kind of player Josh is, he brings energy to our team. Honestly, it’s no surprise he bounced back like he did. We know what he does, and as long as he’s impacting the game, I think we’re in great hands.”

On Mikal Bridges’s D and the improved team defense:

“It started at the point of attack, with Mikal, just picking up and making things hard. Everybody talked and communicated a lot more. I just felt like we had an edge to us tonight.”

On Brunson’s influence every game:

“He’s our leader. When we see he’s playing like that, we all just want to do anything we can to get the win.”

OG Anunoby

On Game 5 defensive performance:

“I thought we came out great defensively. We were getting stops, flying up and down the floor.”

Josh Hart

On self-assessment after an atrocious Game 4:

“Last game, I felt like I was trying and I watched the film and I was really embarrassed about what I was doing, how I looked and the lack of intensity, lack of passion, lack of competitiveness.

“I was embarrassed, honestly. Not even the turnovers, but giving up back cuts, not communicating. I’m the guy who’s supposed to play with a high competitive nature, a high motor. Those were things I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror, let alone look at these guys.”

On his approach in Game 5:

“I put everything on the back burner. Scoring, all those kinds of things. It was just go out there and be aggressive defensively, try to get into the ball, fly around and get offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, get these guys going. I’ve got to do that next game and sometimes I’ve got to be a little more aggressive offensively and pick my spots. But I was embarrassed how I played Game 4 and I knew I had to come in and pick it up.”

On the Knicks’ mentality through the playoffs:

“We never give up. That’s the biggest thing. That’s just how we play. We know when we’re messing up and we’ll hold each other accountable. We pick it up when we need to. It’s the same situation, going into their place, which is a tough place to play. They have great fans, great energy. We have to be even better.”

On Brunson’s Game 5 all-around game:

“That’s our guy, we know he’s going to bring it offensively but I feel like he dug in defensively and had great intensity.”

On Bridges defending Haliburton:

“Just picking him up, trying to be physical with him.

“[Bridges] did a great job. We’re asking a lot from [Bridges]. He’s picking him up, running around with him. Tyrese is someone who never really stops moving. He’ll bring the ball down, he’ll hit, he’ll run off of it, he’ll get the hand back, he’ll throw it back to the big, he’ll run back. [Bridges] did a great job today trying to be physical, trying to be on his body and not give him anything easy. I think we didn’t have any plays where we had a miscommunication or left him open for three, which I feel like we did a couple times last game. He’s a hell of a player and sometimes you’ve got to tip his cap to him. [Bridges] did a great job today.”

Delon Wright

On what the recent opportunities mean to him:

“This is something you dream of—being in New York, playing in Madison Square Garden. This is a dream come true. I didn’t know if this opportunity was gonna come when I got here, the team was so stacked, the rotation was stacked. But I just tried to figure out a way to impact the game when I get in there.”

On how to defend Haliburton:

“You gotta try something different [against Haliburton]. I feel like when I come in, I just try to use my IQ, getting deflections, disrupting their offense. I know they’re a high-paced offense, so I just try to do something to disrupt it. I like to fly around. I like to go after the ball and be a free safety. … My teammates feed off of it.”

On playing with Landry Shamet:

“I played with Landry in D.C., so we’re pretty familiar with each other. I know that he’s a defensive guy, he can shoot it. We both got our opportunity the same game, and we’ve been trying to seize the moment, seize the opportunity and prove that we can play and contribute to this team.”

Rick Carlisle

On the difficulty of closeout games:

“One team’s trying to move on and one team’s trying to stay alive. It’s never not the hardest game.”

On limiting Nesmith’s minutes:

“We were just looking for people to go in there and battle. He got off to a bit of a slow start. I wasn’t sure if maybe he was slowed a little bit by the ankle. So I got Sheppard in there right away, and then [Bennedict] Mathurin got a game going, so that dug into Aaron’s minutes some. But everybody’s just gonna have to be ready for Game 6 [on Saturday].”

On adjustments going forward:

“There are more things I’m going to have to do to help them. And so I’ll take responsibility for that, and we’ll see where we can improve.”

On a poor Game 5 start:

“To start the game, we just didn’t have the right level of force, the right level of attitude necessary, in this environment.

“It was a bad start. We never had a lead in the game. There were a multitude of things that were going wrong. And there were times, there were stretches during the game where we got a little bit of traction, but never enough.”

Tyrese Haliburton

On the Pacers’ expected response after Game 5:

“We’re a resilient group. We always want to respond when things don’t go well after a game like that. We understand what the stakes are and we understand the conversation, what it will be around our group. But we’re fine. There’s no need to panic.”

On Game 5 performance:

“It was a rough showing for us tonight.

“We felt like our preparation was right, as a group I felt like we approached the day the right way, but I feel like I could have been a lot better. You know, put it on me, and I’ll be better in Game 6.”

On Knicks’ pressure and the outlook for Game 6:

“We’re up 3-1, their season was on the line today. I understand they are going to come out and play hard, increase the pressure, do whatever they have to do to win. And they did a great job of that and now it’s up to us to respond in Game 6. When you get here to this point, there’s no such thing as surprises… Kudos to them, they played better than us today. We’ve got to be prepared for Game 6.”

On the Knicks’ defensive changes in Game 5:

“There were some different things they did defensively, but for the most part I think their base stuff was the same.

“They picked up the pressure a little bit more. Tried to apply more as the game went on.

“I think they did a good job applying pressure. Just did a better job defensively than they did last game. [They] switched some things up. We saw some blitzes. Brunson shows were a little harder. They switched a little bit more down the line. They mixed things up as the game went on.”

On the lack of Game 5 urgency and the rest-of-series outlook:

“I mean, we’re up 3-1 [and] their season was on the line today. So understand they were gonna come out and play hard, increase the pressure, do whatever they gotta do to win and they did a great job of that. Now it’s on us to respond in in Game 6. I think when you get here at this point, there’s no such thing as surprises. You got to be prepared for whatever is to come. Kudos to them. They played better than us today. We gotta be prepared for Game 6.”

On team-wide struggles in Game 5:

“We weren’t great as a group. I thought we lost the margin battle today. They did a better job in the margins. We turned the ball over too much, didn’t rebound to our ability like we have shown this series. And when you do those two things against these guys in a game that comes down to so many possessions, it’s tough stuff.”

On the Pacers’ mentality after suffering a hellacious loss:

“We always want to respond when things don’t go well. After a game like that, we understand what the stakes are, and we understand (what) the conversation will be around our group. But we’re fine. There’s no need to panic or anything. It’s a tough loss. Everybody’s addicted to film study and figuring out where we get better. Coach Carlisle is a savant at that stuff. After a game like that, I know he’s gonna be all over the film. I’m gonna be all over the film.”

Andrew Nembhard

On the Knicks’ lineup changes breaking Indiana:

“They changed their lineup up a little bit. That might have changed the dynamics of things.”

Bennedict Mathurin

On the Pacers’ Game 5 performance:

“We just weren’t us. We weren’t the Pacers. We didn’t play with force. We weren’t relentless. I think that’s the one thing that we were missing tonight. And I think that we got to step it up for next game, because it’s Game 6, and we got to close it.”

On the team’s mindset and next game:

“We didn’t play with the aggression like we’re used to. We have to play with the edge from the start of the game, and I think that we didn’t have that tonight. But I’m very, very confident that we’ll be back for next game. Everybody’s going to be ready to play and give it their all.”

On playoff mentality:

“It’s a long series, man. It’s a long series until there’s a winner. Our focus shouldn’t be, we’re gonna play in the finals. We got to beat the Knicks first. We have a good chance of closing everything at home. And I think everybody has the right mindset to come to the game, show up and play as hard as we can.”

Aaron Nesmith

On playing through injury:

“It’s stiff. It hurts, but it’s no excuse. Gotta be better. I was able to play Game 4. I could play today. There was no excuse. … I just need to play better.”

Pascal Siakam

On the Knicks’ effort in Game 5:

“They fought harder.”

On the team’s resilience:

“We’ve been a resilient team all year. We’ve shown so far that we can fight. We can bounce back against a really good team. We beat them at home, and they came back, on their home floor, and they executed well. They played better than us.”

On the Pacers’ season perspective and confidence:

“We’ve been, all year, just an amazing team. Our strength has been just being together, fighting hard together, staying together no matter what. Nobody had us being here right now. We’re up 3-2 in the conference finals. It’s amazing, and I’m so proud of my team, just how hard we’ve been playing all season. This is the NBA; there’s going to be times where a team is going to play hard. They’re going to be going to beat you, and that happened.”

On the ups and downs of playoff basketball:

“You’re going to have bad games. This is the NBA, and there’s going to be times where a team is going to play hard. They’re going to beat you. It is just all about us, man. It’s always been us against the world, and I don’t expect it to change. … We’re up 3–2 in a series, and we have an opportunity to go back home and show what we’re made of.”

On proving doubters wrong:

“Nobody had us being here right now. We are up 3–2 in the conference finals. That’s amazing. I’m so proud of my team and how hard we have been playing. You’re gonna have bad games; this is the NBA. That happens, it’s fine. Our team has been so excellent at bouncing back. It’s always been us against the world, and I don’t expect it to change.”

Stephen A. Smith

On the Knicks’ Finals outlook:

“I give them zero chance, zero, of beating the Oklahoma City Thunder if they were to advance to the Finals. Days ago, I’m like, ‘Hey, we got a chance.’ And then I watched OKC, having to cover the Western Conference Finals and I see those bodies that they throw. Then I see the New York Knicks’ style of play and the lack of personnel, and you just see it in the way Oklahoma City defends. And that has taken some of the luster off my championship aspirations for the New York Knicks.”

On the prospect of the Knicks making the Finals:

“Getting there, I’m all for it. But I would have to cover an NBA Finals where I’m a New York Knick fan and I literally believe from the bottom of my heart that nothing short of divine intervention would propel them.”