Tom Thibodeau ties Pat Riley on Knicks wins list

Tom Thibodeau has won more games with the Knicks than 12 of his 13 most recent predecessors coached.Tuesday night’s 105-91 victory over the 76ers at Madison Square Garden tied Thibodeau with Pat Riley for fourth in franchise history with 223 wins and moves him within arm’s reach of Jeff Van Gundy (248) for third in the franchise record book.“All that individual stuff, it’s a byproduct of having great players, and you share that with your team,” Thibodeau said before tipoff.“I obviously have great respect for Pat Riley and certainly Jeff, and what they’ve done in their careers.

The history of the franchise — when you look at the great players, organizationally what it represents — it’s an honor to be here.”Thibodeau still hasn’t led the Knicks back to the Eastern Conference finals as his fifth season nears the playoffs, but he has done the seemingly impossible and provided stability where it once was sorely lacking.“It’s huge,” Knicks forward Josh Hart said of Thibodeau’s steady presence.“Whenever you go through a coaching carousel, it’s hard to develop guys and it’s hard to have guys break out.

Having that stability is huge for the players, but it’s also huge for the organization and fans to really have something to build around and cheer for.”In that regard, this marriage actually is a two-way street.By the end of this week — after a two-game road trip to face the Cavaliers and Hawks — Thibodeau will have coached more games for the Knicks (395) than he did for the Bulls, who gave him his first shot to lead in 2010 after a 21-year tenure as an NBA assistant.His in-between stint guiding the Timberwolves lasted a relatively brief 204 games, so the Knicks have given him stability, too.“I know what this team means to the city, having grown up in Connecticut and being a Knick fan,” Thibodeau said.

“We have to continue to do it every day.” Where have these Knicks taken on Thibodeau’s persona?“That competitive na...