Tom Thibodeau preaches consistency after Knicks' rousing road wins
New York Knicks forward Julius Randle, right, is defended by Denver Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope during the second half on Nov. 16, 2022, in Denver. Credit: AP/David Zalubowski
SAN FRANCISCO — As happy as the Knicks were when they escaped with the win Wednesday night in Denver, putting an end to a 16-year drought in the thin air, the mood in the locker room afterward was hardly celebratory.
Part of it was exhaustion, the team having just completed an unlikely sweep of back-to-back games in Utah and Denver. The opponents were a combined 9-0 at home prior to those games that each featured fourth-quarter comebacks. Part was illness, with some sort of ailment spreading through the team that had players trying to stifle coughs.
And part of it was that Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau and the team leaders were reining in the excitement, remembering where the franchise’s fortunes seemed headed just days earlier. The Knicks embarked on this imposing five-game, seven-night trip off an embarrassing performance at home that had the internet filled with calls for Thibodeau’s ouster followed by a players-only dinner in Salt Lake City to stress accountability and sticking together — all well aware of how quickly things can change.
“I think the important thing is to understand to not make more out of it than what it is and not to make less,” Thibodeau said. “It is what it is. So, to win each night, you have to put things into winning. There’s no short cuts to winning. And so, this game is now done and then get ready for the next one. They keep coming. So, be focused. Concentrate on the improvement. We have to play consistently, understand what goes into winning each and every night, and it’s your work; it’s your togetherness, your willingness to sacrifice, all those things, discipline. That’s what wins.”
“It’s big time,” Jalen Brunson said. “It shows what we can do as a team. But we’ve got to continue to build . This is a great two-game stretch for us. We’ve got to continue to move forward and continue to get better.”
The Knicks were carried by Julius Randle Wednesday night, perhaps not coincidentally the player who had called for the players to gather. He had a season-high 34 points, but perhaps more important, four steals — three in the fourth quarter as the Knicks took over the game. Brunson was a reliable force and the team got solid contributions from Jericho Sims and Cam Reddish, hardly two players the team would have counted on at the start of the season.
Players pointed to Randle diving on the floor for a loose ball and feeding a fast break with a pass to Brunson for a dunk as the spark, but they carried it to the final buzzer as Sims and Immanuel Quickley had stellar defensive stands in the final minute.
"We talk about that all the time, the hustle plays,” Thibodeau said. “And oftentimes, that’s the difference between winning and losing. First to the floor, deflections, hustle, dive headfirst, pick it up, scoop it to Jalen. When you make those type of plays, those plays you make inspire your team and then there’s a belief that we can do this. We’re down 10 in the fourth and just battled making hustle plays to get back into it.
“Again, there has to be a consistency to what we do and it’s been that way. There have been stretches where we’ve played really well. Some stretches, not so well. So, the challenge is to have consistency and to understand . . . [Tuesday] night had nothing to do with [Wednesday] and Friday night will have nothing to do with this night. So it is exactly what it is. It was a good road win. Enjoy tonight, then get ready tonight and know what the challenge is that’s coming next.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
