Knicks looking to close out gritty Pistons as soon as possible
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau yells to his team during the first half of Game 4 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Detroit Pistons, Sunday, April 27, 2025, in Detroit. Credit: AP/Duane Burleson
Tom Thibodeau was an assistant coach on the Knicks staff, much younger with slightly more hair, the last time the Knicks were able to celebrate a postseason series victory at Madison Square Garden.
There weren’t many opportunities through a dismal two decades for the franchise after that, but with the return of Thibodeau as head coach the Knicks have been a regular part of the playoffs. They just hadn’t been able to actually finish a series off on their home court. It is an opportunity that they carried into Tuesday night’s Game 5, holding a three games to one lead in the best-of-seven series against the Detroit Pistons.
“That was a long time ago,” Thibodeau said of the June 11, 1999 Eastern Conference Finals win over the Indiana Pacers that sent the Knicks to their last NBA Finals appearance. “And again, the same thing: to understand what does it take to win this game? Don’t lose sight of that. That’s the only thing we’re focused on: win this game.”
If it sounds like Thibodeau was treating this close-out opportunity just as he and the Knicks treated every regular-season game, every playoff game leading up to this one, you’re on the right track. For Thibodeau, the message remains: play 48 minutes the right way and don’t think beyond that.
It’s hard to think that the Knicks weren’t thinking about the possibilities that awaited if they could get the job done. It means an Eastern Conference semifinal matchup with the Boston Celtics. It's a task that the Knicks’ offseason plans were built around as they added pieces to provide matchups for the Celtics' star wings.
But it would be hard to find a member of the Knicks who would admit to taking an eye off the job in front of them.
“It’s our next game,” Jalen Brunson said after the Knicks morning shootaround. “It’s very important regardless of the situation.
“It’s a big deal to win the series regardless of where you are at. I think it’s very special to win at the Garden. But to close out you have to close out where you are. We have an opportunity tonight. Obviously, we are focusing on Game 5.”
The first four games of the series may have put the Knicks on the verge of moving on, but it hasn’t been without a fight. They needed a 21-0 run in the fourth quarter of Game 1, survived a last-second clock malfunction in Game 3 and escaped with a controversial finish to Game 4.
So when the Knicks talked about keeping their eye on the task, it was also hoping to avoid any more of these wrestling matches than necessary. When the Knicks got to the Eastern Conference semis in the last two seasons they did so battered by injuries. Other than Brunson’s right ankle, which as you’d expect he said was fine and Thibodeau echoed that diagnosis, the Knicks have been at full strength in this series.
"What we have to understand is what goes into winning the game,” Thibodeau said. “So if we start looking at all the outside things, you lose sight of what it takes to win the game. And that’s what you can’t lose sight of. What does it take to win this game? And that’s all we’re thinking about.”
The Pistons were approaching it the same way out of necessity. With their backs to the wall after dropping both games at home, Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff wanted the team to not think about needing to win three straight, but just focus on Tuesday’s Game 5.
“Just one game,” Bickerstaff said. “I was talking to our guys about it and when I was an assistant with Kevin McHale in Houston we were in a similar situation. And I thought Kevin framed it to the guys perfectly and the guys were able to buy into it where it wasn’t too big. It was one game. And then the next game was just one game. So that’s our mindset right now. All we have to do is go out and play well tonight and it’s one game at a time and we’ll see what happens.”
Notes & quotes: The Knicks lost another member of their championship history when Dick Barnett passed away over the weekend. “Obviously, condolences to his family and to all our fans, his teammates and what he means to our franchise,” Thibodeau said. “Just a very classy man. I remember watching games when he played. Everyone tried to mimic his jump shot. That team, it had so much creativity to it; togetherness, sacrifice. Just the way they played made them special . . . Their character, their intelligence and the way they cared about each other is really special.”
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.
