Knicks Are Now Underdogs Against White-Hot Pacers In Eastern Conference Finals

For the first time in 25 years, the New York Knicks have gotten one step closer to reaching the mountain top.

The Knicks dominated the Boston Celtics, winning 119-81 in a game that was never competitive to advance to the Eastern Conference finals.

“The fact that we haven’t been there [the Eastern Conference finals] since my dad was on the team,” Jalen Brunson said in his post-game interview. “It means a lot for this organization and this city.”

Four players for the Knicks finished with 20 or more points – Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns. As a team, the Knicks shot 46.2% from the field and 34.8% from three.

The one-sided beat down was fueled by a dominant third quarter where the Knicks outscored the Celtics 38-17.

Boston was never able to recover.

Only three Celtics finished with double-digit points, and Jaylen Brown was the only player for Boston to score 20 points. Brown also finished with six assists and seven turnovers.

Derrick White, who finished with 34 points in game five, finished with just eight points on 3-11 shooting. It was only White’s second game of the playoffs, finishing with under 10 points.

The Celtics played this game without Jayson Tatum, who recently underwent surgery for a ruptured Achilles tendon he suffered in game four of the series.

Both teams emptied their bench in the second half because of the wide score. The Celtics played 14 different players while the Knicks played 12.

The Knicks entered the series as +900 underdogs and will now advance to play the Indiana Pacers in the second round. The Pacers are coming off a 4-1 series win over the one-seed Cleveland Cavaliers.