"I may be lean, but I don't take no stuff." Julius Erving in 1976, responding to warnings from Dave Cowens that NBA enforcers would target him after the merger: "Dave Cowens warned me the other day that guys would be headhunting for me. But that's all right. I may be lean but I don't take no stuff." "It's like the old psych Russell used to give Chamberlain. He'd say something foul to him, talk about his mother or ignore him completely, and Wilt would be thinking more about what he's going to do to Bill Russell than about his game. I'm intelligent enough not to get locked into that type of thinking."

Julius Erving after capturing the final ABA title in 1976: "Julius Erving remained. He sat silently in the far corner of the Net locker room. On the floor in front of him lay the evidence of the celebration… On the wall in back of him hung a picture of Wendall Ladner, his late teammate — killed in a plane crash in June — and friend." "I'll remember this night," said Erving. "We had everything going for us. We had 16,000 people screaming for us. We had Super John Williamson. We had the memory of Wendall behind us."

Raptors guard Mike James in 2006 on Steve Nash's MVP candidacy during his second MVP season: "If he gets it, I guess... I don't know," James said. "I don't know what it's judged on. I know Phoenix is having a good regular season, but everything should be judged on the post-season, also." "I look at somebody like Allen Iverson, and what he's doing for the Philadelphia 76ers. He's having the best season of his career, stats-wise. I look at what Shawn Marion is doing. There's a lot of guys you have an argument for."

Elgin Baylor in 1965 responding to press claims that his play was declining: "Listen," he says, through set teeth. "I am playing better basketball than I have ever been playing. You have to watch action at both ends of the court. You have to look for statistics that no sportswriter ever looks for." Elgin on Jerry West's broken nose: "I will give Jerry my nose any day for his knees. I need two good knees. My nose can take care of itself."

Dominique Wilkins getting whistled for a travel on a Eurostep in the 80s. (That spin on Bird to set up the steal was pretty cool, too.)

This was called an offensive foul on Elgin Baylor in 1959, without the defender even trying to flop or sell the call.

This was called a travel in the 1980 All-Star Game. Compare that strict enforcement to what players get away with today.

The Showtime Lakers once started 29–0 against the Kings in 1987, holding Sacramento without a single field goal in a 40–4 first quarter: Kings guard Derek Smith on the brutal start: "It didn't take an Einstein to realize that when they were up by 16 points and they were running plays for Kurt Rambis to hit jump shots, we were in trouble." Pat Riley on the blowout: "I don't think any team embarrasses another team, but a team can embarrass themselves. I will never take any joy in beating anybody like that. That's not what it's all about." A.C. Green: "The first time I looked at the score it was 22–0. I was out there hustling and playing as hard as I could. I never noticed that they hadn't scored a basket." Byron Scott: "I don't feel badly for the Kings. That's the way it goes in the NBA."

The fact that Bam broke Kobe’s scoring record says everything about where the game is at. And that’s no disrespect to Bam… he played the hand he was dealt. But the 2000s was a real defensive era. When the league inflates offense so much that an average All-Star can top 81 points, it ruins the history and balance of the game.

In the 60s, Wilt got whistled for millimeter pivot slips. Today, perimeter players get unlimited gather steps and carries. The rule enforcement leeway directly drives today's inflated efficiency. Modern defense will stay broken until the league restores fundamental rules.

Phil Jackson in December 2007 on rumors of the Lakers trading Kobe Bryant to the Knicks: "The Knicks? He's just being kind to New York. That wasn't a serious issue." "There just aren't any comparable situations. It's like giving up a diamond for some garnets."

I like how Giannis has cut his 3-point volume way down over the years. He’s living at the rim. Punishing defenses. Using his size the way it's meant to be used. There is a massive developmental lesson in that for Wemby.

Willis Reed on preparing to face Wilt Chamberlain in the 1970 NBA Finals after battling Wes Unseld and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: "Unseld was the least offensive-minded of the three. Alcindor was the most. But Wilt is more diversified than both. He can score, he can rebound and he can play defense." "He has more assets to contribute to the game. He has a wealth of experience and he’s mighty big."

Calvin Murphy in 1982 on why Moses Malone was the best player in the world: "People talked about Moses as though he were a one-dimensional player. But he can do it all. He can play inside. He can play outside. He'll do all the dirty work. Moses Malone is the best basketball player in the world today. He can do whatever is asked of him."

Wemby is a big man built completely backwards. Settling on the perimeter without a go-to interior move will keep holding him back in high-stakes playoff series until he learns to leverage his length for easy buckets down low.

The second late-game math error of the night. Down 6 with :41 left, Brunson drove for a 2. Even on a make, New York remains down 4—still a two-possession game. Only a 3-pointer flips the variance to a single-possession game. Celtics made the exact same mistake earlier (Tatum 2-pointer down 6 with :35 left). A simple late-clock mismanagement, but teams keep making it.

The Knicks' last championship banner night was Oct 9, 1973. There was no ceremony. The banner was already hanging when fans arrived, and the Garden sat 1,000 short of a sellout while the Mets played a playoff game that afternoon. Tonight they raise their first in 53 years.

On opening night of the 1966–67 season, Wilt Chamberlain dropped 28 points and 21 rebounds in a 128–112 Sixers win over the Knicks: "Wilt Chamberlain tried a way-out foul shooting method that worked... and new coach Alex Hannum had the nerve to bench Wilt for nine minutes." "Chamberlain began the third-period surge with two one-handed free throws from the left corner of the foul line."

The last time the Knicks and 76ers opened the season against each other: Halloween 2000, the first game after the Patrick Ewing trade. The Sixers won by 29—while Garden fans chanted "Patrick Ewing!" Larry Johnson on the chants and Ewing's absence: "That's dead and gone. That's dead and gone. We're 0-1 with this team." Sixers forward George Lynch: "It was real strange… When you think of the Knicks, ever since I've been young, I've always thought about Patrick Ewing being there... It's just unfortunate that he's not here anymore."

Early 1960s Lakers-Pistons action as Jerry West elevates for a jumper: "Jerry West of the Lakers zeroes in and there's no rebound for Pistons' Dukes (left) and Ferry (16)"