Will today be the day we can finally start buying Knicks vs. Celtics merch?

The day has arrived, and the Knicks will have their second chance at finishing the Pistons’ season, this time in Detroit.

New York flies to Motor City to play yet another potential series-clinching game on the road, aiming at avoiding a very daunting Game 7 back at MSG, with the Celtics already waiting for them for a second-round matchup.

Here’s what Coach Thibs and plenty of other folks have said in the leadup to tonight’s game.

Tom Thibodeau

On the need to reset after losing Game 5:

“The challenge is to reset. Every game is different. Take a look at the film, see what we do better, be ready to go to the next game.”

On Deuce McBride’s struggles:

“Just gotta keep playing. Next play, just keep getting ready, each game is different. How you reset is important. One game really has nothing to do with the next so just put the proper amount of time into preparation to get yourselves ready to play.”

Josh Hart

On how to fix stagnation:

“Something we can do to stop that is be better defensively and get stops. Get out and run. When you’re taking the ball out of the rim, it slows it up. It allows them to pick (us) up full (court). So, we’ve got to make sure we continue to get stops and finish those possessions with rebounds and get out and run.”

On the team’s struggles coming off halftime:

“Yeah, we’ve got to figure out how to come out of halftime better. I think this is the third game in a row — I’m blanking on Games 1 and 2 — but we go into halftime with a lead, and then we go into the fourth quarter down. So we’ve got to figure that out. We’ve got to come out of halftime more aggressive and punch first.”

On the Knicks mindset entering Game 6:

“You want to win every game. If I had my way, we would’ve swept them. If they had their way, they would’ve swept us. We’re not looking at it that way. Just got to make sure we focus on fixing the mistakes we had today and going to Detroit ready to go. We’ve got to go out there and win a game. Got to go out there and compete, be physical. Not worry about foul calls or refs or anything like that. We’ve got to make sure we control what we can control and that’s effort, that’s our reaction to the things we can control. And punch first.”

Karl-Anthony Towns

On Game 5 execution and the series-long struggles:

“We put ourselves in a deficit early. All series, we’ve been fighting back. I’m not sure right now. I’ve got to watch the tape. I think for us, we’ve got to do a better job of executing at a higher level, stay disciplined with the ball, [moving] the basketball a little better. We haven’t put ourselves in position to get a commanding win. We’ve been very gritty this whole series and physical and it’s allowed us to find a way a lot of times to win. I think what was the point differential in Detroit, like three points? You only can do it so many times before it comes back to bite you. I think that tonight, we put ourselves in that position and we just didn’t find a way to get that match going.”

On the need to stop the overreliance on comebacks:

“You can only do it so many times before it comes back to bite you. [In Game 5], we put ourselves in that position. We just didn’t find a way to get that magical ending.”

Mikal Bridges

On how to fix second-half issues:

“We gotta maybe do some layup lines or something coming out of halftime — get everybody out there moving.

“I had the same situation when I was in Phoenix. We started the third quarter off [slow], and we had to change something—get everybody out there to start moving. Mentally, get everybody right. As much as we say ‘play hard,’ and say we’re gonna do what we say every time, we still don’t get it done. Maybe warming up or something can get us going a little bit.”

Jalen Brunson

On the never-ending second-half struggles against the Pistons and Bridges’ layup line idea:

“As a team, we recognized that we’re starting games strong, and we responded. But now we’ve got to do the same thing coming out of halftime. It’s a really important stretch, those first couple minutes. [Game 5] they took advantage of that.

“[Layup lines] could be [an answer]. But more than that, we’ve got to come together and make sure we’re mentally locked in.”

On his approach to Game 6:

“We have to go there with the mindset to win. Simple as that.”

Miles McBride

On the need to improve after Game 5:

“We’re gonna go look at film. Make corrections and get the job done.”

J.B. Bickerstaff (Detroit Pistons Head Coach)

On Tobias Harris:

“I’ve run out of adjectives about how I feel about Tobias, so I’ll just repeat myself. He is our safety blanket. He’s reliable, he’s dependable, he understands what needs to happen in the moment. He’s an unbelievable human being, an unbelievable teammate. He’s a fierce competitor.

“You want me to keep going?”

On the team’s focus and mentality through the series:

“The focus is just the game that’s in front of us. And I do believe, like why we’ve been able to grow the way that we’ve grown, because that’s the mentality we’ve had.

“We’re not a team that looks out five games. We’re not a team that looks at, you have to win three. We are a team that just looks and plays in the moment and you don’t worry about the other weight of all the other stuff that comes about if that’s the way you play.

“I think our guys have just been accustomed to doing that, and that’s why, again, you know, it’s not going to be easy, but we got an opportunity to go home playing the Game 6 in front of our crowd, which I know will be awesome.”

Tobias Harris (Detroit Pistons Player)

On playing at MSG in front of his family:

“No pressure. My mom and dad were sitting up there watching me.

“I grew up on Long Island, New York. My father used to always, on the weekends, drive me into the city to play against city competition. Every single weekend as a kid. So being able to go out there and play the sport that I love, and have the joy, be able to compete with this group and see my parents up there, family and friends, there’s no pressure.”

Jalen Duren (Detroit Pistons Player)

On playing at MSG:

“This is amazing. Being here, in this atmosphere, playing against this team, there’s nothing like it. This is what you dream of as a basketball player.”

On fighting through pressure situations:

“When your back is against the wall, you might be stuck in the corner, the only way to get out is to keep swinging. That’s what we did, just kept swinging. Got out that corner.”

To Jalen Brunson:

“You flopping motherf—ker.”

Dennis Schroeder (Detroit Pistons Player)

On his role in Detroit:

“I love Brooklyn. Played there, played great. They wanted to go a different route. Went to Golden State, met incredible people and then came to Detroit. I think Detroit is one of the best situations I’ve been in. I don’t have to change my style of play, I can be myself. I got a coach who is going at the refs, who is not taking no crap. I’m like that.

“That’s the reason I’m in the league for 12 years. I’m 6-foot-1, I’ve got to find my way somehow. I love that I don’t have to change myself, and I can just be who I am. My teammates embrace me. I just try to help every game.”

On mentoring Cade Cunningham:

“Just talking as much as we can, bring them together. Every dead ball, come together, making sure I talk to Cade. Cade, he’s one of the best players in the world. Keep talking to him, see the stuff that I see. Just try to teach him and encourage him. He did it tonight, he controlled the whole game. Every time he was stepping on the court, he was controlling the game.”

Charles Barkley (Former NBA Player)

On losing playoff games at home:

“To lose in the playoffs at home, I think that is the worst [expletive] feeling in the world.”