The Knicks beat the Warriors so badly, Tom Thibodeau actually sat down during the game

The New York Knicks have done something rather unique: putting together an eight-game winning streak while breaking an entirely different eight-game losing streak at the same time on Tuesday night.

The Knicks destroyed the reigning champions Golden State Warriors 132-94 at MSG on a bright day that saw New York celebrate a home victory against the Dubs for the first time since February 2013.

It had been eight straight losses at the hands of Golden State when the Frisco Boys visited MSG, but that nightmarish run came to an end yesterday, while a much better-looking one — now at eight games and counting — got to adorn the NBA standings chart on the row belonging to the Knickerbockers.

The streak is now at eight consecutive wins It is the best in the NBA, and the win helped New York solidify its season record, now at 18-13 (.581) and only 4.5 games behind the Milwaukee Bucks’ 22-8 at the top of the Eastern Conference.

“No one has talked about the streak at all,” Jalen Brunson said.

Brunson (21 points), who went on to score 20-plus points for the fourth game in a row, added that he and his teammates just “tell each other to keep it rolling” and that they are “trying to be the best team we can be and just focus on one day at a time.”

Immanuel Quickley led everybody in points with 22 off the pine. IQ went for a ridiculous 6-of-10 from the field, 5-of-6 from three-point range, and a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe.

No starter on the Knicks lineup logged more than Quentin Grimes’ 32 minutes.

“Durability is big in this league. You want to be able to count on people. Dependability is important,” Thibodeau said. “That’s how you build chemistry. The more time you’re together, the better.”

It’s interesting that Grimes ended as the leading player in minutes considering he landed on Ty Jerome’s foot—seemingly turning his right ankle—and had to leave the court creating a cloud of worry above MSG. Not before hitting a pair of freebies, of course, and later coming back for the start of the second half.

Watching Tom Thibodeau sit their starters for a long stretch was something new. As was watching the very own Thibs sit himself on a chair for a few minutes at the end of regulation.

“I’ve never seen that in Thibs’ three seasons here,” Julius Randle said. “I’ve never seen him sit down. So that’s crazy.”

This win must have hurt detractors of Thibs and the Knicks, and mostly the old-gen-pundit cohort. Enter Shaq and Chuck saying that “I don’t think they can get out of one round” (that was O’Neal) or labeling New York “Whoopdy-doo,” and “not even the best team in their city” (words courtesy of Barkley). Okay Boomers.

Speaking of Grimes, Thibodeau said, “He has great body position, great discipline.” The coach added that Grimes “knows how to challenge shots, and he flies around the whole time. He’s everywhere.”

A few days ago, Thibodeau was already quoted saying that “last year, [Grimes] showed us how good he was defensively,” while also saying that “[Grimes] will only get better and better as he gains more knowledge, becomes more familiar with each guy.

“He studies and he’s just got a knack for it, he’s got a tenacity about him. He’s a big multiple-effort guy. Great intensity all the time.”

Turns out Thibs was right.

The Warriors were without their leader, Steph Curry, and couldn’t count on Andrew Wiggins, Donte DiVincenzo, and JaMychal Green either. With lackluster performances by Draymond Green (seven points, six dimes, five boards) and Klay Thompson (11 points, five turnovers), the Dubs had to rely on a glaringly insufficient 26 points by Jordan Poole on Tuesday.

The Knicks put up an 8-0 run to start the game, never relinquished the lead, and even stomped Golden State in a fourth quarter that ended 13-32 in favor of the home squad.

“I love our team. I love the way they practice. I love the way we prepare,” Thibodeau said.

Randle tried to keep everybody on their toes saying that he is “not going to put much into a winning streak (because) it’s still December,” and that he “looks at it a day at a time.”

“Day-by-day how I can improve as an individual and get better as a group. We’re taking the necessary steps. Still got a long way to go and we can still improve a lot,” Randle said.

Randle made clear that “no one’s talking about the winning streak“ saying the Knicks are “just playing for each other right now.”

“When you see something working, you want to repeat it as much as possible,” Randle added.

RJ Barrett (18 points) failed to score 20 points after doing so in five consecutive games leading up to Tuesday’s matchup against the champs. He avoided turning the ball over while shooting 42% from the field hitting 1-6 three-point shots.

“Feeling good. Good win. Everybody played well across the board, so it’s a fun game to be a part of, fun win, and just knowing that we got another one tomorrow,” Barrett said.

The Knicks are hosting the Toronto Raptors (13-18 on the season, 3-12 on the road, 2-8 in their last 10 games) on Wednesday in the second leg of a back-to-back at MSG.

Thibodeau tried to keep everybody alert once more, even with the Knicks experiencing one of their best runs of results playing under his guidance. “[Wednesday’s] game will have nothing to do with tonight’s game. We have to start all over. We have to get ready to play.”

“Our preparation is important. The physicality of Toronto we have to understand how hard it’s going to be. And we have to be ready to do it all over again. You have to play 48 minutes and do it together on offense and defense. If we skip over any steps, we’ll pay for it.”