NEW YORK – The New York Knicks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 100-95, in overtime. It was the Knicks' first stateside bout of the 2026 season. Head coach Mike Brown told reporters after the game that they did it without running a single offensive play.
The Knicks missed 42 three-pointers on Thursday night. Brown said postgame he'd live with the result, saying that New York clearly “didn't shoot it well, but that's okay,” and that he noticed “stretches where [they took great shots.]”
New York's new coach also revealed that, through their first three preseason games, the team has been employing a distinct offensive strategy fit for the preseason.
“We've…restricted our guys to doing certain things…we played the entire game out of our read-and-react early offense. We don't have a single play call in yet. We play off of makes and misses…take what the defense gives us,” Brown divulged.
The takeaway isn't the X's and O's, or lack of them. This is a focused effort from Brown to ensure that, from the ground up, the Knicks develop the right habits. If executing a scripted play is akin to acting out a scene of a play, Brown is teaching his players how to be improv actors when plans don't pan out.
When asked specifically why he hadn't installed any plays, Brown jovially guided the media to the answer. In short, though, he wants the team to “learn to play basketball the right way.”
How Mike Brown's ‘sprays' will help shape Knicks offense
What the right way will look like under Brown's guidance remains to be seen in a game with actual stakes. On Thursday night, Brown reiterated a focus of his from media day. He wants the Knicks to gain comfortability driving-and-kicking the basketball to open shooters.
Keeping the ball moving can help New York's offense grow in several regards. Frantic ball movement makes their plans on a play-by-play basis less predictable, especially because of the onus it places on the defense to determine the next move.
Former Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau spoke often, even going back to his first preseason postgame availability about the need to “let the opposing defense tell you what to do.” Brown has a similar philosophy founded in “read-and-react” principles but prioritizes unpredictability and versatility in ways that manifest differently on the court.
“We always tell our guys to play off of two feet, play off of two feet,” Brown repeated, “when they hit that paint…play the spray game…we ended up with 23 sprays for the game, which is pretty good.”
The Knicks took 57 three-pointers on Thursday night, sinking just 15 for a 26.3% conversion rate. They snuck by with a five-point win, scoring exactly 100 points in 53 minutes of game time. The Timberwolves turning the ball over 23 times, compared to New York's 11, helped the Knicks leave victorious.
Brown, however, feels strongly that New York will improve on their shooting performance. That will render their “sprays” more effective and help unlock the offensive potential that Brown was brought in to actualize.
“We have a great shooting team,” Brown declared after the game. “Not a good shooting team, a great shooting team.”
