Knicks bounce Celtics in 6 games, return to East finals after 25 years
New York is partying like it's 2000 again.
Karl-Anthony Towns posted 21 points and 12 rebounds, Josh Hart notched a triple-double, and the New York Knicks eviscerated the Boston Celtics, 119-81, in Game 6 on Friday at Madison Square Garden to win their second-round series.
New York will next compete against the Indiana Pacers for a spot in the NBA Finals. It's the Knicks' first trip to the Eastern Conference finals since 2000 when they were thwarted by Reggie Miller and the Pacers in six games.
"The goal is always to win a championship," Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said postgame, according to Ian Begley of SNY, after dispatching their Atlantic Division rivals. "We have eight wins, we need 16."
Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 20 points, six rebounds, and six assists but fouled out with 2:50 remaining in the third. Joe Mazzulla's squad, playing without the injured Jayson Tatum for a second straight game, mustered little other offense, with Payton Pritchard (11) and Al Horford (10) the only other Celtics to score in double digits.
The Knicks took a 27-point lead into the break after more than doubling up Boston 38-17 in the second quarter. It tied the franchise record for the largest halftime advantage in the playoffs, equaling a 69-42 lead over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 7 of the 1970 Finals.
Hart's triple-double is the first in the postseason by a Knicks player since Walt Frazier in 1972. Hart is also just the third player to register one in franchise history, joining Frazier (four times), and Dick McGuire.
"Josh, what he is is a basketball player," Thibodeau said of Hart. "It's transition, it's the pace, it's playing out of the pocket, it's making corner threes, it's doing all those dribble-handoff hustle plays, offensive rebounds. And then, defensively, just being everywhere and coming up with big rebounds. I think when you play with that kind of effort, it's inspiring to the team."
Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals tips off Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.