There will officially be playoff basketball once again at MSG!
Sunday's 118-109 win over the Wizards clinched a playoff berth for the Knicks, who return to the postseason after missing last year's playoffs.
"It's a great accomplishment, because it's one of several goals, and it's the next step along the way, so keep going," head coach Tom Thibodeau said after the victory. That's where the focus is; keep checking the boxes as we go and be ready to play every night."
The Knicks, currently 46-33 after the win, are 2.5 games up on the 43-35 Nets for fifth in the East with three games to go. Those two teams split their season series 2-2, so the Knicks' magic number to clinch at least the fifth spot is two, and they can do that as soon as Wednesday.
"It's a great feeling, it's something you strive for," said Jalen Brunson. "You want a chance to compete. The fact that we get to further on our season is great. But we still have a lot of work to do."
The Knicks are also still mathematically in play for the fourth seed, as they are three games behind that 49-30 Cavs, but as the Knicks won the season series three games to one, a tie at 49-33 – meaning the Knicks win out and Cleveland loses out – would give the Knicks the fourth seed.
"It's a good accomplishment, but I think we want a little bit more for ourselves," Immanuel Quickley said. "We don't want to be complacent, we want to keep finding ways to get better and keep moving forward."
This is the first time since the Knicks made three straight playoff appearances from 2011-13 that the team has even made the postseason in two out of three years. They have not, however, won a playoff series since 2000, when they made the Eastern Conference Finals.
Last season, the Knicks finished 37-45 and were 11th in the East, six games behind Charlotte for the final spot in the Play-In Tournament. But they're back this year, and it means that Josh Hart, who was acquired from Portland at the trade deadline, will see the postseason for the first time in his seven-year NBA career, after a college career that included a National Championship alongside Jalen Brunson and Ryan Arcidiacono – who went from New York to Portland in that deadline deal – at Villanova.
"It's cool…I saw something the other day that I was in the Top 5 among active players with the most games played without reaching the playoffs, so I'm extremely excited," Hart said. "I haven't had this opportunity, so I'm extremely excited, and I can't wait to see the Garden rocking."
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