The New York Knicks finally broke a long, painful, arduous spell after beating the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday in Game 2 of their first round series in the NBA Playoffs.

After the game, Knicks veteran Taj Gibson got extra emotional talking about his journey with Derrick Rose and coach Tom Thibodeau. The big man held back tears in reflecting on the adversities the three of them have been through together since their days with the Chicago Bulls (via Knicks Videos).

Gibson, Rose, and Thibodeau were all instrumental in the resurgence of the Bulls a few years back. Rose became an MVP, Thibodeau got named Coach of the Year, while Gibson was one of the most beloved players in Windy City because of his tenacity. Then all came to a screeching halt after Rose suffered a series of injuries. Their meteoric rise came back crashing.

They all went their separate ways until they found themselves reunited briefly with the Minnesota Timberwolves before finding each other once again with the Knicks.

With this, Gibson got even more introspective, revealing it was their dream to play against or play for the Knicks.

“Like I tell the young guys, they may not know where the path's gonna lead them, where the game's gonna take them, (but) just trust your heart. Don't worry about what nobody's gonna say, because I sat years ago as a rookie or maybe my second year, every day with Thibs after practice talking about the Knicks, how it would be great to play them one day, and for it to come true, to play with Derrick who I've been playing with my whole career, now in New York City, God doesn't make many mistakes, man.”

We're not crying, you're crying.