The excitement was palpable. The stakes couldn’t be higher. Expectations were through the roof.
As the Eastern Conference semi-finals rolled on, Game 3 was primed to be the Knicks’ most significant home event in a quarter-century.
Friday night is set to be a showdown following that Saturday afternoon matchup.
The Knicks will be back at Madison Square Garden for what feels like a monumental basketball game.
This time, Tom Thibodeau’s squad has the chance to send the defending champion Celtics packing.
It’s a shot at making their first trip to the conference finals since 2000, closing out a playoff series at home for the first time since 1999, and beginning to envision a run at the NBA Finals.
Originally, the Knicks were seen as considerable long shots.
Many experts believed that even making it to Game 6 would be a win. Yet, the first two games flipped that narrative upside down.
In Game 4, they rallied back from a 14-point deficit in the third quarter, especially after Jason Tatum suffered an injury in the waning moments.
Suddenly, expectations shifted; reaching the Celtics seemed within their grasp.
Along with those expectations comes pressure—a lot of it. The Knicks are under immense scrutiny to avoid extending the series to a Game 7 on Monday night.
They are considered the favorites in this matchup.
“We need to play with urgency. I didn’t feel we did that in Game 5,” Mikal Bridges said following their missed opportunity to eliminate the Celtics in their last game.
This series has been quite unusual—much like the Knicks’ unpredictable postseason.
The Celtics have largely dominated, winning two games by a combined total of 47 points.
Meanwhile, the Knicks managed three wins.
In Game 5, they started strong, leading at the end of the first quarter, and even had a nine-point lead early in the second. Yet, things unraveled quickly.
Their defense was lacking, their offense stagnated, and they struggled in the fourth quarter.
Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, and OG Anunoby—their main scorers—combined for just 31.4% shooting from the field. The post-game mood echoed previous games where they admitted to playing without enough urgency.
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“Winning every game is the goal, and tonight’s result is particularly disappointing,” one player said in the locker room.
Inside TD Garden, the Knicks were hesitant to confront the reality of the situation. Game 6 feels like a pressure cooker, a must-watch even if elimination isn’t hanging over them.
Josh Hart pondered the significance of the game, emphasizing the need to win every opportunity.
That’s somewhat true, though Coach Thibodeau’s squad is not one to subscribe to today’s NBA load management philosophies.
Still, Friday night carries a weight that transcends a typical playoff game.
The Knicks find themselves presented with opportunities that are rarely envisioned this spring.
The defending champions are on the brink.
With the Cavaliers and other high-performing teams already out of the running, home-court advantage in the conference finals is a possibility.
It’s reminiscent of Game 4 when the Knicks bounced back from a disappointing loss to seize control of the series.
They haven’t lost back-to-back playoff games this postseason, and they’re determined to keep it that way.
“We’ve improved. Now we’ve got another chance, and we have to come out fighting,” Bridges insisted. “We’ve got to stay aggressive and not repeat what happened the other night.”
