Orlando Magic center Khem Birch and Knicks guard RJ Barrett (9) fight over control of the ball during a floor scramble as Knicks forward Julius Randle, left, looks on during the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Jan. 18, 2021. Credit: AP/Kathy Willens
After the Knicks’ one-sided victory Sunday Tom Thibodeau joked that he wasn’t happy unless he was miserable. But somewhere amidst the work and the endless film-watching there had to be a little smile of nostalgia for the Knicks coach.
After holding the Celtics to 75 points Sunday, he had the Knicks back at work early Monday morning, running through a hard pregame shootaround and then the Knicks were at it again, arm-wrestling their way to a 91-84 win over the Orlando Magic, the back-to-back wins providing a throwback to better days of hard-defending Knicks teams.