“Yeah, that was awesome. You don’t instigate it but you don’t back down,” Fizdale said. “The kid’s tough. Don’t let his slim frame fool you. He’s not going to back away. The kid grew up in some tough surroundings. I’m sure he got in some scuffles down there in the Bayou. That’s who we are. That’s the Knicks DNA. We’re going to keep holding on to that. We may not necessarily totally instigate stuff but we’re definitely not shying away from stuff.”
More on Morris-Robinson Beef
The Knicks rookie’s debut included a couple highlight alley-oop jams and a heated exchange with Wizards grumpy veteran Morris, who was ejected following two technical fouls because he couldn’t get over something Robinson called him. “This stupid ass rookie was talking too much. And obviously, I didn’t like what he said,” Morris complained Monday after the Knicks beat the Wizards in overtime of their preseason opener, 124-121.
Candace Buckner: Morris was asked if he ever had any interaction with Mitchell Robinson before: “I don’t even know him. I ain’t never really seen him b4. He just checked into the game. I never even guarded him. I didn’t know there was a Mitchell on their team! I didn’t know anything about him.”
“He could have helped his team out tonight if he’d just be quiet. I didn’t say nothing to him,” said Robinson, who finished with six points and seven boards in 17 minutes. “If he would’ve just hushed and continued to play the game, but he wanted to keep going. He got out. We got the win, I kept playing.”