Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau spoke to media following the team’s 117-108 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night after handing the Hawks their 11th straight loss at home.
Julius Randle had a strong performance, scoring 24 points with nine assists and six rebounds. RJ Barrett continued to play well, going for a team-high 26 points with five boards and three assists. Thibs spoke about their two key players’ performances, and what he saw from the team’s defense throughout the game.
“I thought the two man game with he and Alec [Burks] was really good, I thought Julius made great reads all night long, and that got us going,” Thibodeau said. “You can’t say enough about the way RJ is playing also. When those guys are aggressive like that it opens things up. I thought the rebounding was a big factor.
“Defense in the first half was really good. I thought once we got up early in the third, when we got up 17 we sort of got loose, and you can’t do that in this league. You get loose…