Mitchell Robinson was happy to discuss the dunk he threw down with 24.2 seconds to go in regulation on Saturday to seal the Knicks’ matinee victory over the Nuggets.
When the conversation turned to his recent social media posts, though, Robinson wanted no part of it.
“Leave me alone,” Robinson said following the Knicks’ 116-110 win. “I’m not answering. It’s the past, bro. I’m moving forward.”
Robinson, who finished the game with eight points and nine rebounds in 26 minutes, indicated in a Snapchat story on Tuesday that he was upset with his role, writing he was “just out there for cardio” and “wasting my time and energy.”
He wrote on Instagram on Friday that the outburst came down to “family issues” and he should’ve handled it differently.
“If I wasn’t [happy with my role], I wouldn’t be playing,” Robinson said after the game Saturday.
Asked whether he said anything to his teammates, and whether anyone had said anything to him, Robinson gave two one-word answers in the negative.
Elsewhere in the Knicks’ locker room, Robinson’s social-media antics didn’t seem to have ruffled any feathers.
“We’re all brothers, so we kinda even joked about it on the plane a little bit,” Immanuel Quickley said. “Mitch, he’s a great guy off the floor. Obviously I think everybody knows that. He’s like, a character. He can be funny and outgoing a little bit.
“So we understand who Mitch is and we told him, any time we can help you get the ball a little bit more, we’re gonna try to do that. So we don’t take it too much. We want everybody on the team to be happy and try to eat as well as winning.”
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau cast Saturday as a bounce-back performance for Robinson, who had scored two, four and six points apiece in his last three games.
“If you have a bad day, bounce back, have a great day,” Thibodeau said. “Don’t put anything in the way of the team. So I think he understands that. … We all know the dirty work he does for the team. It’s a big part. He’s got a huge role for our team.”
Jamal Murray led Denver in scoring with 25 points on 9-for-14 shooting.
Nikola Jokic was not far behind with 24 points on 11-for-18.
“He’s going to make you pay for mistakes and you feel like no lead is safe,” Thibodeau said of Jokic. “You don’t speed him up. He plays the game at his speed. I thought we made him work and that’s what you have to do.”
Miles McBride did not play, with Jalen Brunson back in the rotation.
