Knicks' 28-0 run vs. Raptors fueled by Hornacek's 'explicit' halftime talk
The New York Knicks needed a little vulgarity to pull off some history.
As they retreated to the Madison Square Square locker room at halftime Wednesday down 59-48 against the Toronto Raptors, Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek was less than pleased about his team's deficit. So much so, in fact, that guard Courtney Lee says Hornacek thoroughly ripped into his team - and Lee specifically - during the intermission.
"We came in here, we watched film, and coach kind of got on me. I really didn't like what was being said," Lee told ESPN's Ian Begley. "... (It was) a little explicit.
"I don't think I can repeat what he said to the media. But we exchanged words and we went from there."
New York erupted in the third quarter to score 41 points, mostly on a 28-0 run that completely drained Toronto's momentum. By holding the Raptors to just 10 points in the third, the Knicks' plus-31 differential in the frame also set a new team record in the shot-clock era.
Lee seemed to take Hornacek's brutally honest feedback to heart: The 32-year-old finished the contest a game-high plus-18.