It was the perfect birthday gift for Tom Thibodeau.
Thibodeau is a proud New Englander, born in New Britain, Conn, a diehard Patriots fan who rooted for the Knicks early on before turning green.
When he turned 63, Thibodeau didn’t win a big birthday cake from Tom Brady, but he celebrated by returning to New England to destroy the Celtics with the defense on Sunday afternoon, 105-75.
This 30-point massacre in the Boston matinee ended his club’s five-game losing streak when his Knicks played a perfect game for the Celtics at TD Garden, without fans.
The Knicks’ ever-intense first-year coach even smiled at Zoom in the post-game interview.
“You know I’m never happy,” said Thibodeau – with a smile. “I am not happy, unless I am unhappy. ”
This was an exciting afternoon in Beantown – the best so far in his short term. The Knicks last beat Boston by at least 30 points, was in 1997 and Thibs was a young Knicks assistant.
“I actually grew up as a fan of Knick – my father was a fan of Knick, ” added Thibodeau. “So when I went to school in Boston [Salem State], it was in the mid 80s, so I became a fan of Celtic. The irony of it all is that I ended up working for both teams. If you grow up in Connecticut, you can’t get much better than that. I am thrilled to be part of two historic organizations. “
It is true that the Celtics, leader of the Eastern Conference, lost superstar Jayson Tatum and had three games postponed last week because of COVID-19.
But the Celtics still took the Knicks lightly and paid. Big moment. They played as if they were wondering if Brady, still a New England obsession, would take Tampa Bay to the NFC championship game on Sunday.
The Knicks did not play badly Friday in their painful defeat in Cleveland and discounted their frustration at the Celtics.
“I told our players the following: the way they are training, the attitude, the approach and how they are training has been a positive thing,” said Thibodeau. “I thought about going to Cleveland, I thought we were ready to play. I thought we were great at shootaround and we played well enough to win [Friday] on the road. We don’t close the game the way we would like. So [Saturday] in practice, I found it great. As long as we’re doing the right things. I know that we will improve and we will continue to improve. “
As promising as this was for the Knicks (6-8), it is just as good for the Brooklyn Dream Team. If the Celtics are the biggest obstacle to the NBA finals, you can book Kevin Durant and James Harden’s trip to Los Angeles this summer.
The veterans of the Knicks and their two rookies, point guard Immanuel Quickley and striker Obi Toppin, played for the first round, matching for 29 points out of 12 out of 20 shots.
“If we keep playing like we did today, we will win a lot of games, ” said Toppin, who finally looked like a lottery bet by scoring 12 points and hitting 2 of 4 3-pinters.
Thibodeau’s club harassed the Celtics sleepwalker in one of its worst outdoor shooting performances in its history – 7 out of 46 (15.2 percent) from the 3-point line. The Celtics would not have reached the water if they threw tea at Boston Harbor.
“Defense leads to attack,” said Knicks center Mitchell Robinson, who fired despite struggling. “The communication was there.”
Robinson entered the competition with an injured heel, then suffered a bad fall in the first half after blocking a 3-point shot. He injured his knee, but limped during the day on a football Sunday like a pigskin warrior, still an active burying machine.
Meanwhile, Quickley gave his usual shake and got the disappointing Toppin to act early with an alley-oop move.
Thibodeau maintained his position in keeping Quickley as the bank’s lightning bolt and Elfrid Patyon as the starter. He was rewarded. There is a lot of time to change. Once he does, he cannot go back, or he is David Fizdale.
Subsequently, Thibodeau addressed the Quickley problem that won over social media enthusiasts. Payton’s defense is best used to set a tone early, said Thibodeau, and the Knicks crushed the Celtics on the first move. The Knicks coach said he would like to see Payton-Quickley as a duo in the future.
“I love the two guys – they are different and bring different things to the team,” said Thibodeau. “This gives us great flexibility. Elfrid, when you look at his defense and size, many of these guards, particularly the NBA guards today, are a burden to deal with. Elfrid knows how to defend them. He can play make-up for us. And when Quickley arrives, he gives us a different look. “
Of course, it is easier to win in this famous hall without the loud crowd of Boston. TD Garden is the loudest building in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks were as quiet as the Sunday church.
Now it goes from Thibodeau’s birthday in Boston to the celebration of Martin Luther King’s Day in the Garden. Sunday will have more meaning on the court if the Knicks are so triumphant on MLK Day against Orlando.