The New York Knicks and Boston Celtics open their Eastern Conference Semifinals playoff series Monday night, resuming one of the NBA’s notable rivalries. Boston enters as the 2-seed, while New York is the 3-seed in the matchup.
This will be the 16th postseason meeting between the two franchises. Boston holds an 8-7 advantage in the previous playoff series. It has been 12 years since their last postseason contest and 41 years since they faced off beyond the first round. For more on the upcoming series, see this series preview.
Boston dominated the regular season series against New York this season. The Celtics swept all four games, winning by an average of 16.3 points. Two of those wins came by 20 points or more, including a large victory on opening night.
Despite the regular season results, players acknowledge the playoffs present a different challenge. "The playoffs are a different animal," Celtics forward Jayson Tatum said. "Whatever happened in the regular season goes out the window when the playoffs start."
Tatum’s performance has remained high entering this round. He averaged 31.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists in the first round against Orlando. Tatum scored 35-plus points in three consecutive games in that series. He also scored more points against New York this season than any other player, totaling 134 across four games. Tatum played through a bone bruise on his shooting wrist suffered earlier in the postseason.
Boston’s 3-point shooting was limited in the first round but was a strength against New York in the regular season. Boston made 84 shots from deep in four games against the Knicks, including tying an NBA record with 29 makes on opening night. No other team made more than 65 total three-pointers against New York this season.
Guard Derrick White was reliable from long range against New York, making at least four three-pointers in each game with a 54.3 percent success rate. White has also performed well in late-game situations, shooting 56.0 percent on clutch three-point attempts this season, the third-best mark in NBA history.
New York guard Jalen Brunson was named the 2024-25 Clutch Player of the Year. Brunson led the league in clutch field goals and delivered a 40-point effort in the series-clinching Game 6 against Detroit, playing through a rolled ankle suffered in the previous game.
Celtics guard Jaylen Brown returned from a knee injury just before the playoffs and averaged 22.2 points in the first round. Guard Jrue Holiday missed the last three games with a strained hamstring, but Coach Joe Mazzulla provided positive news Friday, indicating Holiday could return for Game 1.
