New York faces a historic chance of reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in Boston.

The day has arrived, and the Knicks can make franchise history by making the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years.

If New York wants to host that ECF Game 1, however, they need to first beat Boston on the road in Game 5 of the second-round series against the Celtics, as the Indiana Pacers wait to know their ultimate foe.

Here’s what Coach Thibs and a few other folks have said in the lead-up to tonight’s match.

Tom Thibodeau

On Mikal Bridges’ fourth quarter performance:

“He played hard the whole game. I thought he had some good looks that didn’t go in, but that didn’t sway him at all. He got going big time in the fourth quarter. Those were huge shots he hit.”

On the Knicks’ playoff mindset:

“Whatever the series, each game, you’ve got to go in and put the work into winning that particular game. That’s the only thing that matters.”

Jalen Brunson

On Mikal Bridges’ growth:

“I’ve seen him since 2015. I’ve seen the way his work ethic has grown each year and I’ve seen everything he does, how psychotic he is with his work. It all pays off. I have full trust in him no matter what the situation is. That’s me and him, we don’t take things personal, we talk. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s a little ugly, but we want to win. It’s been like that since the day I met him.”

On Mitchell Robinson’s return:

“He brings a lot to this team. When he came back, obviously we wanted him back fully healthy and ready to play, but seeing how he was just being back, being healthy, being full off the court, it was great to see him. He was working his tail off to get back. Obviously, we love what he does, but him having his joy and being back and being around and contributing, that’s what we’re most happy to see.”

On Karl-Anthony Towns’ defense:

“He definitely stepped up to the challenge. As teammates, guys in the gap, guys in the help, just giving him confidence to press up and continue to play knowing that we have his back. By ‘we,’ I mean Mikal, Josh and OG … and an occasional charge from me. The way he stepped up to the plate was phenomenal. We need more of that, and I know he’s going to bring it to the table.”

On staying focused after success:

“For the longest time, whenever something’s accomplished, I’m moving forward to the next. It’s just how I’ve been. Dating back to high school, college championships, everything that I’ve ever won — there’s nothing in my house. Because I’m just looking forward to, ‘How can I be better?’ I give all the memorabilia to my parents. They can keep it. And when I’m done, I’ll look back and see everything.”

On Tatum’s injury:

“Obviously, we want to go out there and compete, but when a player of his caliber goes down and he is rolling in pain, you know something is wrong. That’s why I gave my thoughts and prayers because you don’t want to see something like that ever.”

On the Knicks’ Game 4 win:

“It means a lot. A good game for us. It’s the way we responded that I’m the most proud of. We stuck together. We didn’t quit. That’s a tough team — they’re the defending champs for a reason. But we kept finding ways.”

Mikal Bridges

On his clutch mindset:

“It’s the will to win. That’s pretty much it. Just having the fight to win, doing whatever it takes. I think last year, for a while, I was leading the league in fourth-quarter points for a little bit.”

On building chemistry with new teammates as the Knicks keep improving:

“I think just getting better throughout the year. Obviously, JB, Josh, OG [Anunoby], guys have been here, but kind of like a new team a little bit with me and [Karl-Anthony Towns] coming in and Cam [Payne]. Just a little different, so we kind of had to figure out how to play together, the system and everything. It took some time. [The Celtics] have been together for a while. Regular season for them is just clockwork. They all know how to play off each other. Just took some time.

“The postseason, you get to know each other even more, how to play off each other. Just takes some time. I know everybody wants success early on. But we just kept getting better, all of us.”

Josh Hart

On Mikal Bridges’ impact throughout the Celtics series:

“He’s been doing it all series. Huge steal Game 1. Fourth quarter and a block Game 2. This game was nothing different. Got us huge buckets in the fourth, huge stops. I’m so proud of him as a teammate, as a friend, going through all the adversity that he’s gone through this season. He’s never complained. He always comes to work happy, smiling. He deserves his credit and his flowers.”

On his “Minutes Champion” NBA award:

“Minutes champion? Guess I got my cardio in this year.”

OG Anunoby

On the Knicks’ performance in Game 4:

“That’s what it felt like. We forced them into tough shots and moved the ball really well on offense.”

Karl-Anthony Towns

On Mitchell Robinson’s performance:

“He’s special, man. When you’re playing against him, you understand what he brings to the team. And when you’re playing as one of his teammates, you see even more the magnitude, the impact he has on the game. He was just special tonight, doing everything we needed him to do. Whether it was guarding guards, guarding their big men, or also getting big rebounds, alley-oops, timely baskets. He was able to do it all. Shoutout to him.”

On the Knicks’ win and what it takes to get past Boston:

“That team is special. They’re defending champions. It takes a whole team to beat them.”

On Tatum’s injury:

“I just put my head down and prayed to my mother, prayed to God, to put protection over him and comfort. The NBA needs that kind of superstar talent that he is. I know we’re competing at the highest level in the playoffs, but this is a brotherhood.”

Mitchell Robinson

On the mindset heading into Game 5:

“Just reset, and try to get it.”

Jaylen Brown

On Celtics’ defensive struggles in Game 4:

“It was terrible defensively tonight, to be frank. Just no resistance.”

On the Celtics’ reaction to Tatum’s injury:

“I think everybody’s kind of at a loss for words, just because, not only losing the game, but obviously the concern with JT. But we pick our heads back up tomorrow and go from there.”

On the postgame mood inside Boston’s locker:

“We didn’t say much. Felt like there wasn’t a lot to say. Obviously, [Tatum], everybody’s concerned with him.”

Al Horford

On adjusting without Tatum:

“No question about it. It is an uphill battle. But for our group, we have to turn that page quickly and do our first job, which is to win (Game 5) on Wednesday. That’s the mindset, and as a group, we just have to rally together because, obviously, we’ve lost our leader and the guy that gets us going. We have to come together as a group.”

On the emotional toll of Tatum’s injury:

“It’s very concerning. The care that I have for him. What he means to us. What he means to Boston. Just very tough for us. More important, it’s just really tough for him right now. Let’s see what happens. Just very tough for our group altogether.”

Kristaps Porzingis

On the Celtics’ talent still being there without Tatum:

“That’s the thing, we have the talent, we have a lot of talent. Even with JT out, even me maybe playing 10–15 minutes, we have the guys and we’ve shown in the past that we can play still really good basketball. Obviously, like, there’s no replacement for this guy, no? Like, this is a big hit for us, 100 percent. But again, we have to play with the hand we’re dealt right now, and this is it. Going forward, maybe not, maybe not. Who knows? I don’t know. But we’re gonna play with what we have.”

On moving forward as a team:

“We’re grown men, you know? Who hasn’t had injuries? It’s a part of this sport, part of this game, and we feel for him, of course. But we have to move forward. He doesn’t want us to be sad and not playing our best basketball. So we’re going to go out there and leave it all out there and live with the results. Again, these things happen. Obviously we all felt for him in that moment, but we just have to keep going, we have to keep playing. Obviously we all realized in our heads what this could mean, but again, this is part of the sport, it’s tough, and it’s hard to see and hard to accept the truth but it is what it is and we have to go forward with what we have now.”

Bill Simmons

On the Celtics’ Game 4 loss:

“Tonight was not a good night for Celtics fans, holy sh-t. This could go down—we’ll see what happens with Tatum—but this could go down as one of the darker Celtic days.”

On Tatum’s injury:

“Not gonna speculate too much on the Tatum thing but it did not look good. Worst case scenario is an Achilles, best-case scenario is like torn ligaments in his ankle or some sort of bad ankle injury but, either way, done for the series, and God only knows how long.”

On Tatum’s career trajectory post-injury:

“Not to mention, he’s at the peak of his career, he’s never had a major injury. If this is like a major one, it doesn’t just take him out for this playoffs, but it takes him out for, I think, all of next year too. You just wonder: Is he going to be able to get back to the point that he was at tonight?”

On the bigger picture for the Celtics:

“We’ll see what happens with Tatum. This speaks to: A) How hard it is to win a title. B) How important injury luck is. C) How hard it is to put together some really good years in a row.”