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Smart Play Has Tom Thibodeau Pleased With Knicks Win

The New York Knicks made their coach happy after beating the Orlando Magic.

Jeremy Brener

Dec 11, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau coaches against the Atlanta Hawks during the second quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Dec 11, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau coaches against the Atlanta Hawks during the second quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images
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ORLANDO, Fla. — The New York Knicks are back in the win column after a 100-91 victory against the Orlando Magic on Sunday night inside Kia Center.

The win came after the team lost 108-100 to the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA Cup quarterfinal matchup at home.

Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau felt his team responded from the last game in the right way against the Magic.

“Yeah, I thought we adjusted," Thibodeau said postgame. "We had some fouls early that sort of changed the tone of the game a little bit for us, but I thought we responded well after that. And it was physical.

"There was a lot of contact, but I thought we played smart. And I want the contact with intelligence. Body position and communication. I thought that was much better today. And again, just continue to focus on daily improvement. Hard fought road win. And we’ve got a chance to go back and get some more practice in. Work on things that we need to work on and focus on that daily improvement."

The Knicks are now 16-10 on the season, one game behind the Magic for the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. Though the Knicks have made strides in the standings, they are more focused on the overall product getting better, and it certainly has done just that.

The Knicks are playing with a different kind of physicality and that was needed to play a hard-nosed defensive team like the Magic. They were able to extract that side of their own gameplay by facing the Magic, and the Knicks can now take that and run with it when they play other teams.

The Knicks' next opponent is the Minnesota Timberwolves, who host the team at 9:30 p.m. ET on Thursday night at the Target Center.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several On SI sites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid and resides in Central Florida. He graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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