Isiah Thomas was back in the locker room Tuesday.

No. He didn't take over as coach of the New York Knicks, like many people predicted when he became the team's president in December.

But the former Indiana Pacers coach was the keynote speaker at the postgame fuss-fest that followed the Knicks' 114-110 win over lowly Washington at Madison Square Garden.

Thomas reportedly ripped into his players for 20 minutes for not playing with a sense of urgency with a playoff spot in the balance.

Thomas was blasted by the New York media for leaving the boardroom for the locker room. It's a practice that's often frowned upon, a team executive performing duties people associate with a coach.

The players, however, didn't seem to think Thomas' actions were inappropriate.

"It was really embarrassing," Penny Hardaway said. "That's one of the wins where you look at yourself and say, 'How did it get to this point?' We have to knock teams out at the beginning of the game, instead of letting them jump on us. He was very mad. He knows this was a terrible win."