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‘Proud’ Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau praises team after loss to Pacers, ‘They kept fighting and moving forward’
New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau has shared an emotional message for the team after their 125-108 loss to the Indiana Pacers.
New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau has shared an emotional message for the team after their 125-108 loss to the Indiana Pacers. Thibodeau told reporters, according to SNY, “There’s disappointment because you fall short of what your goal is. In the end there is only going to be one team that achieves the goal. So I think the challenge for us is to look at it for what it is.”
Thibodeau went on to say after the Game 6 defeat in Indiana, “We finished in the top three, but we’re falling short of the ultimate goal. So for us, it’s to use that for motivation and determination to work all summer to prepare ourselves to make the final step and keep improving so we can achieve our goal. And I think that’s the way we have to approach it and that’s the way we have to look at it.”
The Knicks won Game 5 at home and then entered Saturday night’s game against the Pacers down 3-1. The first half was close, but then the Pacers pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring the Knicks 34-23. They then maintained the lead throughout the fourth quarter, going on to earn a trip to the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
‘I’m proud of what these guys did’
Thibodeau has coached the Knicks for five seasons. He took New York to the conference semifinals in 2022-2023 and 2023-2024. The Eastern Conference Finals trip happened to be the first for the franchise in 25 years.
“It’s improvement from last year, but it’s ultimately not what our ultimate goal is,” Thibodeau said after the game.
He further told reporters, “We didn’t close the half well. So I thought right before the half when they sort of had that spurt that also set the tone to start the third. And they got into the open floor and that was a problem. It was hard to make up the ground.”
The Knicks had 17 turnovers off of those giveaways, and the Pacers scored 34 points.
“Some of it was our own doing, some of it was their ball pressure,” Thibodeau said. “And that also put them into the open floor. So I thought that was a big problem.”
Thibodeau also opened up about how difficult it was dealing with Indiana’s Pascal Siakam, who went on to win the Eastern Conference Finals MVP award and score a game-high 31 points in Game 6. “He’s a very gifted player, he played a terrific series,” Thibodeau said. “I think the versatility, his ability to run the floor, his ability to play in the paint, his ability to face the basket, to put it on the floor. He’s a tough cover. And sometimes you can play him well and because of his size and his release he can get the shot up and it’s always a good shot. Hats off to him. He had a big-time series.”
“I’m proud of what these guys did,” Thibodeau said. “There was a lot that we had to get through and I thought we handled that part well. … There were a lot of moving parts but they kept fighting and moving forward and I’ve got great respect for that.”
“The playoffs are hard fought and these games can go either way and oftentimes they’re one possession games. … The disappointment of falling short of the ultimate goal, but also proud of what we were able to accomplish because we still had to win games with guys out,” he added.
