Knicks: 'We're not done!'
New York Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns gestures to the crowd during the second half of Game 6 in the Eastern Conference semifinals on Friday. Credit: AP/Frank Franklin II
By the time the Knicks made their way out of Madison Square Garden early Saturday morning, the police had cleared out much of the crowd outside and the cleanup had begun.
And that was fine with them. Let the fans go wild, let those who had witnessed so many years of disappointment scream and celebrate the series-ending Game 6 win over the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals. But the Knicks were not going to be a part of a parade when they had so much more to do.
Maybe at the start of the season, this might have called for confetti to fall and champagne to flow. The goal was to move another step and to compete, and in their wildest imagination, beat the Celtics. And indeed, the front office’s offseason machinations have brought the Knicks to the Eastern Conference finals — a step further than they went the previous two years — for the first time in 25 years, and they eliminated the defending champion Celtics in the process.
So sure, take a moment to savor the accomplishment and — probably for more than one person in the organization — wipe the sweat from the brow and exhale, with jobs secured and saved by the win.
But the Knicks weren’t staging the major celebrations that the fans did because this victory has opened up all sorts of unimaginable possibilities. The Knicks’ next task will be the Indiana Pacers, who knocked off top-seeded Cleveland, and they will have home-court advantage. And if they get past Indiana, there will be no superteam awaiting in the NBA Finals. Minnesota will face the Oklahoma City-Denver winner in the Western Conference finals, with all three teams having had their weaknesses exposed.
That left the fans celebrating and dreaming. Meanwhile, the Knicks readied to get back to work.
“I think the way you have to look at it is whatever your ceiling is, that’s what you’re striving for,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “You’re trying to go past whatever the expectations are for you. If everyone commits to that, the challenge is to bring the best out of everybody. The goal is always to win a championship. We’ve got eight wins. We need 16. And each one gets harder and harder. So you’ve got to keep fighting and you’ve got to understand how important that is. “
Four of the Knicks’ starters sat in a row in the news conference room and showed little emotion. The remaining starter, OG Anunoby, had said little in the locker room, a hoodie pulled nearly over his face.
This did not look like a group that had toasted the victory.
“I think Josh [Hart] showed me a video walking [to the news conference] of a guy climbing up a light post,” Mikal Bridges said. “Yeah, it’s crazy, man, but yeah, great for them, happy for them. Obviously, I’m new here, but I just know how much New York loves their sports, especially the Knicks, so just all excited to be a part of it. They’re enjoying it now for us, but we have way more to go.
“Yeah, there’s more to do. We’re not done. That’s what it is. We came out there tonight to play hard and handle business, but our season’s not over. We’ve got so much more to go and we play on Wednesday, so get ready to prepare for them. Whole different team and a whole new series.”
Perhaps the reason for the subdued celebration was that few outside their locker room believed the Knicks could knock off the defending champions. And while a path may appear for the team to chase its first title since 1973, inside the locker room, they didn’t pay attention to the critics.
“We’re not the media,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “As long as we believe in each other, we can do something special. And as long as the belief in that locker room is that, we don’t care what anyone outside that locker room says.”
“Upset or not, whatever it is, they have a great team,” Jalen Brunson said of the Celtics. “They obviously lost a huge piece [Jayson Tatum]. Regardless, the way they came out in Game 5, they are still a great team. So regardless of what anyone thinks, upset or not, we are just happy to come out of the series with a win and prepare [for] another team.”
While the sirens still rang out and the process of cleaning the streets began hours after the game ended, Thibodeau was headed to celebrate in his own way. He went to “Club Tarrytown,” the Knicks’ training center, where video of the Pacers would begin to be dissected.
“The important thing is to understand what goes into winning,” Thibodeau said. “It starts with your preparation. We have to know Indiana extremely well and just concentrate on being ready for that first game. In the playoffs, you have to earn your wins. They’re not going to be given to you because you’re at home or on the road.
“You have to earn them with your play. So I think that’s the most important thing, understanding what goes into your preparation.”
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.
