Earlier in the week, Atlanta Hawks head coach Nate McMillan was fined $25,000 for basically saying that certain calls won't go in their favor against the Knicks in the first round due to officials favoring New York because they're in a big market.

Well, instead of getting angry about the comments, Tom Thibodeau literally gave McMillan a history lesson. Thibs tracked all the way back to the late 90s when he was the assistant for the Knicks to make his point.

“I think the league is gonna do what they think is best for the league, but… in '96-97, we had six guys get suspended,” The Knicks coach voiced, referring back to a scuffle in Game 5 of their second round matchup with Miami. “Patrick Ewing took a step off the bench, and it wiped him out. And that was our chance, probably, for a championship. I don't think the league favors us.”

“I wish that were the case back then so Patrick could’ve played and we could’ve advanced,” via SNY.

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The Knicks ended up losing Games 6 and 7 of that series. In the sixth game, they were missing Ewing, Allan Houston, John Starks, and Charlie Ward due to their suspensions by referees.

Basically, Thibodeau is saying that New York isn't necessarily a favorite when it comes to officials. While that was more than 20 years ago, the Knicks will simply have to play at a high level all series long to get past the Hawks in this Eastern Conference showdown. Officiating should never be a deciding factor.