DALLAS: Tom Thibodeau, head coach of the famous and rudimentary freshman New York Knicks, smiled when asked about his behavior after winning 117-109 Friday night against the Dallas Mavericks.
It was New York’s fifth straight win, marking the franchise’s longest winning streak in seven years. The Knicks, who lost the record and failed to make the playoffs in the previous seven seasons, are sixth in the Eastern Conference standings with a 30-27 record.
“Am I happy? You know I’m never happy,” Thibodeau said. “We try not to get involved in all these things. I think you don’t want to get lost, and that’s the most important thing to understand what it’s like to win. I think if we take care of all the little things, the big things take care of themselves.
“I think we have the belief that we can win, and that’s probably the most important thing. It started like that in the beginning. It doesn’t matter what outsiders think. It’s what we think.”
The Knicks made 545 games in five-game winning streak, the second longest stretch in franchise history, behind a 653-game stretch from 1958 to 66, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
“We just continued to build,” said star striker Julius Randle, who has averaged 30.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 6.4 assists during the winning streak.
Randle, a Dallas native who had several friends and family in the American Airlines Center crowd, continued perhaps the best stretch of his career with a dominant performance against the Mavericks. He finished with 44 points on 16 of 29 shots, 10 rebounds and seven assists, becoming the first Knick to have at least 40 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a game since Bernard King won on March 22 of 1985.
“He’s doing winning works,” Thibodeau said. “The way we started the game, his aggressiveness set the tone. I’ve said it many times: He’s our engine. He makes us leave.”
Randle has been especially dominant in the last three games, scoring 34 points in Monday’s win over the Los Angeles Lakers, 32 in Wednesday’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans and a Friday 44 in the high season.
Knicks keeper RJ Barrett said it’s no coincidence that Randle played so well against his two previous teams and his hometown Mavs, that they didn’t chase Randle in free agency twice when they had a broad salary cap.
“The way they did the schedule (Lakers, New Orleans and then Dallas and New Orleans), I mean, you knew I would go out and do that,” said Barrett, who had 24 points and eight rebounds against the Mavs. “I’m not surprised at all. He’s a tremendous player.”
Thibodeau cited Randle’s improved 3-point shot as key to his success this season, as the candidate for the most improved player is getting 41% better in his career from the 3-point range after winning 6 d ’11 in Friday’s win. Thibodeau was also excited by Randle’s commitment to conditioning the offseason to prepare for bearing such an important offensive load for the Knicks.
“It’s a responsibility, but it doesn’t weigh anything,” Randle said. “It’s just my focus and who I am. I try to be the same every day, I don’t try to be too high or too low. I’m who I am. Come to work, put on your hard hat, try to be selfless and play with my team “Let this dictate the results”.