Karl-Anthony Towns‘ aggressive first half set the tone for the Knicks and a 21-point advantage in the second quarter buried the Celtics as New York closed out the Eastern Conference semifinals with a 119-81 Game 6 win Friday at MSG.
Takeaways
- After a down Game 5, the Knicks needed more from Towns. He answered the call with his dominant first half, which included 12 first-quarter points. Fueled by Towns and Mikal Bridges, who added 10 first-quarter points, New York jumped out to a 26-20 lead and commanded the game despite Jalen Brunson‘s slow start. Towns, who finished with 21 points on 8-of-20 shooting while adding 12 rebounds and in 35 minutes, was the key catalyst.
- Following a blown closeout game in the 127-102 loss Wednesday at Boston, the Knicks did not let the Celtics hang around. New York’s 38-17 second quarter, which started on an 8-0 run through the first four-plus minutes, buried Boston. The Knicks’ 27-point, 64-37 halftime lead sent a message as the Celtics struggled to generate anything beyond Jaylen Brown‘s 18 points through the first 24 minutes. Brown finished with a team-high 20 points in 32 minutes and fouled out.
- Miles McBride, whose triple at the second quarter’s 11:42 mark started the decisive period, picked up the slack off the bench. His 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including a 2-for-5 clip from deep, especially sparked the offense while New York went through the opening 1.5 quarters with only two Brunson points. McBride, who added two rebounds and one block in 32 minutes, made plays on both ends of the floor that put the Knicks over the top during a pivotal stretch.
- The Knicks return to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000, when they lost their best-of-seven series with the Indiana Pacers in six games. Twenty-five years later, New York gets a rematch with the Pacers. The Knicks were 2-1 against Indiana in the regular season, including a 123-98 win Oct. 25 and 128-115 victory Feb. 11. New York’s loss was a 132-121 result Nov. 11. After respectively beating the sixth-seeded Detroit Pistons and second-seeded Boston in six games, the third-seeded Knicks’ NBA Finals path runs through Indiana, which beat the fifth-seeded Milwaukee Bucks and top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in five games apiece.
Who’s the MVP?
Towns, who asserted his presence against the Celtics from the jump. He was the difference for the Knicks throughout the separating first half before Brunson got going.
Highlights
Mikal for 3️⃣!
(via @nyknicks) pic.twitter.com/mMnxtbWBmJ
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) May 17, 2025
Defense ➡️ Offense 😤
(via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/yuUBqXUWFR
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) May 17, 2025
Jalen Brunson gets the nifty layup to go!
(via @nyknicks) pic.twitter.com/KKtHdDthXU
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) May 17, 2025
What’s next
Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Knicks and Pacers is set for Wednesday at 8 p.m. from MSG. The series is a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference semifinals, which New York lost in seven games.
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