NEW YORK >> Tom Thibodeau just took the New York Knicks to the Eastern Conference finals, the deepest playoff march in 25 years for a franchise that re-emerged as a contender after he became their coach.

For that, he was fired.

The Knicks made what they called a “difficult decision” to move on from Thibodeau on Tuesday, believing it was a necessary step in their chase for a championship.

“We can’t thank Tom enough for pouring his heart and soul into each and every day of being the New York Knicks head coach. He led us not only with class and professionalism for the past five seasons, but also to tremendous success on the court with four playoff berths and four playoff series victories,” team president Leon Rose said in a statement.

“Ultimately we made the decision we feel is best for our organization moving forward. Tom will always be a part of our Knicks family and we truly wish him nothing but the best in the future.”

The Knicks were eliminated by the Indiana Pacers with a loss in Game 6 on Saturday night, falling two games short of their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999. Thibodeau was then asked what the Knicks needed to do this summer to go further.

“Like you would do after every season, you take a step back, I think decompress,” Thibodeau said. “You do a deep dive on the team and then you analyze what you think you need to improve upon.”

The Knicks decided it was the coach.

The move was made by Rose with approval from owner Jim Dolan, according to a person who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because that detail was not included in the announcement. The firing was first reported by ESPN.

It’s a strange decision by the Knicks, who had been one of the league’s worst franchises for most of the 2000s until Thibodeau was hired in 2020. He promptly led the Knicks to the playoffs in his first season, winning his second NBA Coach of the Year award, and they have been a solid contender in the East in recent seasons. They gave Thibodeau a three-year contract extension last summer.

Their big breakthrough came in 2024-25, when they knocked off defending champion Boston in the second round to reach the conference finals for the first time since 2000 — when Thibodeau was an assistant under Jeff Van Gundy.

After they were eliminated Saturday, captain Jalen Brunson expressed his support for Thibodeau, bristling at a question about whether he believed the coach was right for the team.

“Is that a real question right now?” Brunson said. “You just asked me if I believe that he’s the right guy? Yes. Come on.”

Three days later, Thibodeau was gone despite a 226-174 record in New York. He has the fourth-most wins by a Knicks coach.

Thibodeau faced criticisms that his hard-driving style and overreliance on his starters wore down his players, the same ones that have followed him since the beginning of his head coaching career in Chicago. But his ways seemed to be working in New York.

Thibodeau, who spent five seasons with the Bulls and also coached Minnesota, is 578-420 as a head coach.

Pacers arrive late

The Indiana Pacers waited 25 years to get back to the NBA Finals. And then they waited a few more hours to actually get to the NBA Finals.

The Pacers’ travel plans to the NBA Finals were impacted Tuesday by severe weather. The team’s charter was first diverted to Tulsa, Okla. — and then, after refueling there, the plane took a scenic route around another band of weather before finally landing in Oklahoma City about 3 1/2 hours behind schedule.

It was sunny when the team arrived around 7 p.m. local time. That wasn’t the case an hour or so earlier. Forecasters had issued a tornado warning, flood watch and severe thunderstorm watch for Oklahoma City and much of the surrounding areas on Tuesday afternoon, all while the Pacers’ charter flight out of Indianapolis was in the air.

There was at least one tornado spotted in Norman, Okla., near the University of Oklahoma campus, on Tuesday afternoon when the Pacers were waiting things out in Tulsa. It was not immediately known if the tornado touched down or caused any damage.

Norman is about 20 miles south of Oklahoma City. Tulsa is about 120 miles northeast of Oklahoma City.

Foster will ref again

Scott Foster was selected to officiate the NBA Finals for the 18th time, the league said when announcing the roster of 12 officials and two alternates that were picked to work the title series.

Foster is the most veteran of the group. Tony Brothers and Marc Davis were both picked for the 14th time, James Capers for the 13th time, Zach Zarba for the 12th time and John Goble for the ninth time in his career.