Eight minutes and 13 seconds remained in the third quarter and the Garden was suddenly quiet. A 10-point lead had vanished and the new point guard, Jalen Brunson, had just picked up his fourth foul despite hitting the floor himself.
Tom Thibodeau didn’t go to his bench, despite the situation.
“‘Thibs,’ ” Brunson yelled out to his new coach, and Thibodeau didn’t flinch.
That is how much he trusts his new floor general. Brunson responded by not only avoiding his fifth foul until the fourth quarter, but picking the Knicks up off the mat as well.