Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) drives to the basket against Boston Celtics forward Jayson … More
For nearly 80 years, the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks have been foes. They were two of the 11 original franchises in the Basketball Association of America when that league launched in 1946. Three years later, they became charter members of the NBA, which was created when the BAA merged with the National Basketball League. No other organizations from that inaugural 1949-50 NBA season are still playing in their original cities.
Add in the proximity between the cities and their passionate fan bases, and it could be argued the Celtics-Knicks rivalry is the most heated in NBA history even though the Celtics are the reigning champions and have won a record 18 titles while the Knicks have only won two championships, most recently in 1973.
On Monday night, the franchises will begin their Eastern Conference semifinals playoff series in Boston, the first time they will meet in the postseason since 2013. Back then, the Knicks won the first round series in six games, their first series victory in 13 years. But in the ensuing years, the Celtics have had much more success, including making it to the conference finals six times in the past years, advancing to the NBA Finals in 2022 and winning the title last season.
Meanwhile, the Knicks haven’t made it to the conference finals since 2000 when they lost in six games to the Indiana Pacers. After defeating the Celtics 13 years ago in the playoffs, the Knicks didn’t even qualify for the postseason the next seven years. Since Tom Thibodeau took over as coach in the 2020-21 season, the Knicks have improved, making the playoffs four times in five seasons.
This is the third consecutive season the Knicks have made it to the second round, but they did not advance further in 2023 or 2024, losing in six games to the Miami Heat and in seven games to the Indiana Pacers. In last year’s Eastern Conference semifinals, the Knicks won three of the first five games before losing Game 6 by 13 points in Indiana and Game 7 by 21 points on their home court at Madison Square Garden.
Unlike the past two seasons when the Knicks were the higher seed in the second round, they are the underdogs this season as the No. 3 seed (51-31 regular season record) against the No. 2 seed Celtics (61-21).
During the regular season, the Knicks lost all four games to the Celtics: 132-109 in Boston in the season opener on Oct. 22; 131-104 in New York on Feb. 8; 118-105 in Boston on Feb. 23; and 119-117 in overtime in New York on April 8.
The Knicks also had a close first round series against the Detroit Pistons. They won in six games, but three of the victories were by three points or fewer, including Game 6 when the Knicks were down by seven points with 2:35 remaining before outscoring the Pistons 11-1 the rest of the way to win 116-113 and clinch the series. Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson had 40 points, including seven in the final 2:23
Brunson, guard Josh Hart and forward OG Anunoby all started last year, while the other two starters, center Karl-Anthony Towns and forward Mikal Bridges, are in the first seasons in New York and joined the franchise last July and October, respectively, via trades. Brunson (26.0 points and 7.3 assists during the regular season) and Towns (24.4 points and 12.8 rebounds) were both selected as All-Star Game starters.
The Celtics, meanwhile, have star power of their own in forwards Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who were both All-Stars, too. Tatum averaged 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists during the regular season, leading the team in all three categories. He was named a first team All-NBA selection the past three seasons and should be another first team selection when the team is announced in the next few weeks. Brown wasn’t too far behind, averaging 22.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game in the regular season.
During the first round, the Celtics defeated the Orlando Magic in five games, clinching it last Tuesday night at home with a 120-89 victory, as Tatum (35 points and 10 assists) and Brown (23 points) led the way as usual.
On Monday, after six days off, the Celtics will return to the TD Garden to face the Knicks. It will be the 15th playoff series between the franchises, which doesn’t include 1954 when they were each part of the three-team round robin series that determined who would advance to the Eastern Conference finals. But this will be just the third time the franchises will play in the postseason in the past 35 years, with the Celtics winning in four games in 2011 and the Knicks winning in six games two years later. It is also the first time since 1984 that the teams are playing past the first round.
Back then, the Celtics defeated the Knicks in seven games in the Eastern Conference semifinals, with the Celtics winning Game 7 at home thanks to Larry Bird’s 39 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. The Celtics ended up winning the title that season. Now, 41 years later, Boston is the reigning champion and heavy favorite, while the Knicks are looking to pull off the upset and provide their rabid and loyal fans with the organization’s deepest playoff run in a quarter century.
