Knicks rout Celtics to clinch first Conference Finals since 2000

Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The New York Knicks routed the reigning defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics 119-81 to advance to their first Eastern Conference Finals since 2000. This was the most significant margin of victory in Knicks postseason history, a poetic response after the shellacking 25-point loss in Game 5 at TD Garden. The Knicks led by as much as 27 at halftime and 41 in the game. The shorthanded Celtics, without their franchise star Jayson Tatum, who tore his Achilles in Game 4, couldn’t make up for such a large percentage of the scoring production Tatum provided. 

Jaylen Brown and Derrick White were held to just 28 points combined and 11-of-31 from the field after a stellar performance in Game 5 that saw them combine for 60 of the Celtics' 127 points. Brown fouled out late in the fourth after fouling Brunson on a pump fake, as the momentum was entirely in the Knicks' favor. The Knicks' offense was clicking on all cylinders, outscoring the Celtics in the second quarter 38-17, which put the game out of reach.

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It was tied for the most points scored in a quarter (38) in franchise postseason history and also the highest quarter point differential in a quarter (+21) in a playoff game in franchise history since 1996. Four of the Knicks' starting five finished with 20+ points, with Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby leading at 23 apiece and All-Star big man Karl Anthony-Towns finishing with a 21-point, 12-rebound double-double.

It’s a great historic win for the franchise, but they know there’s still more work as they prepare to play a fast-paced, frenetic Pacers team that will test the war of attrition against a team that played its starters the most minutes this season.

“It’s a great win. We advance. You look at that, but you also understand you have to get ready for the next series," Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “The Pacers are a terrific team and we’re going to have to be ready.”

To put into perspective how long it’s been since the Knicks last made the Conference Finals, social media didn’t exist yet. Not Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, etc. No iPhones or tablets. I wasn’t even born yet, as it was a few months before I was brought into this world. Survivor and ER were the top-rated television shows, “No Strings Attached” by NSYNC was the top-selling album that year, and people feared the world would end that year, heading into a new century.

That’s how long it’s been. The Knicks now look to get past the Pacers to reach their first NBA Finals since 1999. They’ll have four days of rest before Game 1 tips off Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET. 

Stand up, New York, the time is now.