NBA champions Boston Celtics eliminated from play-offs by rampant NY Knicks

NEW YORK – The New York Knicks are already looking ahead to their next game, after they thrashed the Boston Celtics 119-81 on May 16 to send the defending champions crashing out of the NBA play-offs.

The Knicks booked their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 25 years with a rampant display on their home court to complete a 4-2 series victory.

Six players finished in double figures, with Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby leading the way with 23 points each.

Mikal Bridges drained four three-pointers on his way to 22 points, while Karl-Anthony Towns added 21. Josh Hart finished with a triple-double of 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

“There’s more to go,” Bridges said. “We’re not done. We came out there tonight and played hard and handled business.

“But our season is not over. We have much more to go.”

The blowout win sets up a showdown against the Knicks’ arch-rivals the Indiana Pacers next week for a place in the NBA Finals.

New York will head into that best-of-seven series brimming with confidence, after an electrifying performance that swept aside a Boston team who had dominated the Knicks in a Game 5 win on May 14.

“In Game 5 they got the best of us and we responded tonight,” Brunson said. “We just found a way to keep making plays on the defensive side, the offence was just rolling.”

Brunson will spearhead the Knicks’ challenge 25 years after his father Rick was a member of the New York team who last played in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2000.

“This is great. I mean, the fact that we haven’t been here since my dad was on the team – he’s not gonna like that – but it means a lot to this organisation and this city,” he added.

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said his team had delivered a complete performance to oust the reigning champions.

“I thought from start to finish we were terrific,” he said.

“(The Celtics) are a terrific team on both sides of the ball. They play their style no matter what, and so they’re not going to hand you anything. You have to earn it. And I felt we did that.

“But we can’t get carried away. Obviously it’s a great win and we advance.

“But you also understand that you have to get ready for the next series. We know that Indiana is a terrific team and we’re going to have to be ready.”

A slew of celebrities such as Timothee Chalamet, Lenny Kravitz, Ben Stiller and Spike Lee were courtside at Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks romp to victory.

Boston – who were dealt a crushing blow in Game 4 with a season-ending injury to star Jayson Tatum – had given their fans hope of a miraculous comeback after their Game 5 win.

But those hopes were snuffed out in ruthless fashion as the Knicks outscored the Celtics 38-17 in the second quarter to take a 64-37 lead at half-time, a 27-point cushion that all but extinguished Boston’s challenge.

Jaylen Brown led the Celtics’ scoring with 20 points, with Al Horford adding 10 and Payton Pritchard finishing with 11.

“At the end of the day, we set a goal out, and we didn’t achieve that goal,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said.

“But that shouldn’t take away from the mindset and effort that the players put in... the approach, the process, you can’t ask for any more from the guys. I thought they gave everything they had throughout the season.

“You have to take your hats off to the Knicks. They played a great series and they’ve been great all year, and Thibs is a great coach – so you have to take your hat off to them.” AFP, REUTERS