Celtics 81 vs 119 Knicks Game 6 live online: summary, scores and highlights | NBA Playoffs
For the first time since the turn of the century, the Knicks are going to the Conference Finals!! They will play the Indiana Pacers in the next round and have a chance to get to their first NBA Finals since 1999. The Knicks haven't won the Larry O'Brien Trophy since 1973. This is as close they have been for a long, long time.
The lead stretched out to 40 before the fourth quarter and by that time the Knicks knew they had punched their ticket to the Conference Finals. Anunoby scored 23 on a night that four players had 20+ and six finished in double digits.
We expected Jalen Brunson to have a big night in a closeout game from New York, but luckily for him he got a lot of help from everyone else. He still has an efficient 23 points on 8/14 shooting but the rest of the cast stepped up and chipped in.
The Knicks finally got a game in which they led from start to finish. They came back from 20 down in the first two games, came back from 14 in the second half of Game 4, but on Friday they led essentially from start to finish.
Give credit to the Knicks offense. They came out and got contributions form everyone, but the defense really set the tone. They allowed just 37 points in the first half, and eventually stretched the lead out to more than 40.
The New York Knicks are heading back to the Conference Finals after 24 year. Four different starters scored 20+ points in the blow out win to send the defending champions packing in Game 6.
It wasn't just Jalen Brunson or Karl-Anthony Towns putting in the work. Everyone pitched in on Friday night after a Game 5 in which New York came out flat. That wasn't the case in Game 6. They got the MSG crowd behind them from the start.
IT'S ALL OVER!!!
The New York Knicks are going back to the Conference Finals after a 24 year wait!!
Kolek strokes a three ball from the top of the key.
Achiuwa to the line after the foul on Queta and he hits both FTs.
Achiwua floats one up and in down the lane.
Davidson to the line after the foul on Payne and he hits one of two FTs.
Queta drags down the offesive rebound and he lays it up and in.
Anunoby missed the shot but Achiuwa was there for the tip in.
Tillman down low and he gets the jump hook in the lane to fall.
Hauser gets into the lane and lays it up and in.
Bridges pulls up from the wing and sinks the three ball!
Hauser sinks the three ball and gets the foul on McBride. FT is good to complete the four point play.
Anunoby pulls up and he drills the three ball off the step back.
Pritchard pulls up and hits the short jumper in the lane.
Timeout Celtics with 8:22 to go in the fourth quarter.
Second chance points for Brunson to laces the three ball in the corner off the feed from Hart.
Pritchard sinks a step back three from the top of the key!
Bridges pulls up from the FT line and he hits the mid range jumper.
Scheierman answers with a three ball of his own and he's got a couple buckets off the bench.
Bridges drills a three ball in the corner off the dish from Hart!
Hart to the line after the foul on Criag and he hits both FTs.
Brunson blows past his defender and scoops it up and in off the window.
Scheirman drives baseline and lays it up and in off the glass.
Craig hits the three ball from the top of the key to start the quarter!
WE ARE AT THE END OF THE THIRD QUARTER FROM MSG!!!
Pritchard back to the rack and he lays it up and in from the left side.
Pritchard finger rolls it home off the up and under on Robinson.
Pritchard pulls up from the FT line and gets the roll.
Anunoby with another three ball, this one from the corner off the feed from Hart!
Timeout Celtics with 1:49 to go in the 3rd quarter!
Anunoby drills a three ball to add insult to injury!
Brunson to the line after the foul on Brown and Brown just fouled out with 15 minutes to go. Brunson hits both FTs.
KAT backing down White and he gets the jump hook to fall.
Brown to the rack and he finger rolls it up and in.
Horford with another three ball! Could the 39 year old be the one to bring them back into this game?
Brunson to the line after the foul on Brown and he hits both FTs. Brown just picked up his fifth foul.
Horford hits a three ball and the Celtics are going to see those start to fall over the next 17 minutes.
The call is overturned and the Knicks gets the ball after the challenge.
Out of bounds on NY, but the Knicks are going to challnege the call with 6:32 to go in the third quarter.
Towns to the rack and he lays it up and in over Horford and gets the foul! FT is good to complete for the three point play.
Hart drills a three ball from the wing out of the timeout!
Brunson steps back from the top of the key and he sinks the three over Brown!
Timeout Celtics with 8:35 to go in the third quarter.
Bridges in the lane and he hits the fader over Kornet.
Kick out from Holiday to White and he drills the three from the wing!
White with his first three ball of the night! He hits this one from the top of the key!
Anunoby drives, hangs, finishes and gets the foul! FT is good after the foul on Horford.
Hart inside for Anunoby and he lays it up and in over two defenders.
WE ARE BACK IN NEW YORK FOR THE SECOND HALF OF ACTION!
New York looks like a team that is looking to close this game out tonight. Hart has just 5, Brunson has 11, and Bridges has 12. KAT is leading the way with 16, but it's about to be Brunson's time to take over as they close in on the Conference Finals.
Robinson's defense has been fantastic and that led to a few buckets on the other end. The Knicks used this 17-4 run to stretch the lead out to 20+
This is the only highlight we can really show you from Boston. He has 18 points, but no one else has more than five points.
It hasn't just been KAT and Brunson. OG is doing his part. Bridges had 12 points and that got the Knicks up big early on.
KAT put the Knicks on the board first and they kept that advantage for the entire first half. KAT has 16 and 6 and has made a big impact on the defensive end as well.
WE ARE AT THE END OF THE FIRST HALF AND THE KNICKS ARE UP BY 27!!!
McBride beats the buzzer with a three ball in the corner off the feed from Brunson!
Brown strings a three ball from the corner off the handoff from Holiday. He's got 18 of the Celtics 37.
KAT bouncing off bodies on his way to the bucket and he lays it up and in! FT is good after the foul on White.
Holiday to the line after the foul on Holiday, and he hits both FTs.
Anunoby stripped Brown and missed the lay up but McBride was there for the follow in transition.
Anunoby to the line after the foul by White and he hits both FTs.
Holiday into the lane and lays it up in traffic.
Brunson with the step back and he drills the three ball from the top of the key.
Brown pulls up and hits the shot over Anunoby and gets the foul! FT is no good.
Brunson drives down the lane and floats it up and in over White.
Timeout Celtics with 3:46 to go in the half.
Porzingis to the line after the foul on Hart and he hits one of two FTs.
Brunson drives into traffic and hits the off balanced floater to fall.
The call is overturned and Brown is called for the foul.
Anunoby was called for a foul but NY is going to challenge that after Brown's elbow look like it came up and made contact with OG .
Timeout with 5:00 to go in the first half.
Big block from McBride on one end and the Hart gets the runner to fall and the foul! FT is good after the foul on Holiday.
Hart sees the seas part and goes at the rack for the lay up and the foul! FT is no good after the foul on Kornet.
Brown down to Kornet down low and he gets the bucket and the foul! FT is good after the foul on Robinson.
Anunoby to the line after the foul on Pritchard and he hits both FTs.
Brunson goes to the rack and gets the reverse to fall off the window.
Timeout Knicks with 7:02 to go in the 2nd quarter!
McBride into the paint and he gets the fader from the left side to fall.
Horford pulls up and hits the short jumper in the lane.
Anunony from the top of the key off the catch and shoot!
White drives to the bucket and lays it up off the glass for his first points.
Robinson locked down Brown and on the other end KAT took the drive down the lane for the lay up and MSG is pumping!!
Timeout Celtics with 10:00 to go in the first half.
Bridges follows his own miss and puts it back up and in.
McBride starts the second quarter with a thee ball off the hand off from Hart on the wing!
WE ARE AT THE END OF THE FIRST QUARTER.
Both teams came out cold, shooting under 40% a piece. Brown has 13 to lead Boston, KAT has 11 and Bridges has 10 for NY.
Brown races to the rack with the game clock running out and he lays it up and in to beat the buzzer.
KAT to the line after the second foul on Porzingis and he hits both FTs.
Bridges in the corner and he drills the three ball off the dish from Brunson!
Porzingis misses the lay up but Horford is there for the tip in.
McBride with the offensive board and he kicks it out for KAT who drains the three ball!
Anunoby working the give and go with Brunson who got it back to him on the baseline for the lay up.
Timeout Knicks with 2:11 to go in the 1st quarter.
Porzingis steps into a deep three from the logo and drills it from long range!
Towns follows the missed three from Anunoby and puts it up and in over Porzingis.
Brown pulls the trigger with a deep three from the wing and he drills it!
Robinson into the game and right to the line after the foul on Porzingis and he hits one of two FTs.
Brown responds with a drive down the right side, gets the lay up and the foul! FT is good after the foul on Bridges.
Towns takes Brown to the rack on the baseline and lays it up and in.
Towns just hit a three from the logo but it was called off because he stretched out the leg to draw contact on Holiday!
Holiday misses the lay up but Kornet was there for the tip in on the follow.
Brunson and Hart running the break and they get it out to Bridges who hits the three in the corner!
Timeout Celtics with 7:04 to go in the first quarter!
Brunson missed the three ball but Bridges was there for the tip in underneath.
Brunson with the step back from the elbow and he's on the board for the first time.
Holiday with the steal and he looks up for Brown for the lay up on the break.
White found Brown who drilled the three ball from the top of the key!
Bridges into the lane on the baseline drive and he gets the reverse to go.
KAT puts it on the deck and goes right at the Boston bigs with the floater in the lane.
GAME 6 IS UNDERWAY FROM NEW YORK!!!
Crunch time for Mr. Crunch
Mr. Clutch and Papa Clutch were getting some shots up before the game started tonight. You know Jalen Brunson is going to want to make up for his six fouls in less than two quarters on Wednesday night.
What can Brown do for you?
What does Jaylen Brown have in store for us tonight? He knows he is going to have to come up huge tonight, but so do the Knicks. He had a career playoff high 12 assists last game. Can he play the provider like he did in the last game?
First five: Celtics
Have a look at this. It's not Porzingis in the starting five. It's Kornet coming out tonight from the tip. He had a big night in Game 5 and tonight he is joined by Holiday, Brown, White and Horford to begin this do or die game in New York.
Knicks first five
It's the same ole same ole for coach Tibs. He's going with his big guns out of the gate. It's Brunson, KAT, Anunoby, Bridges and Hart to start Game 6 from the Garden. Getting MSG pumping early on is going to be massive tonight.
Injury report: Knicks
The Knicks have been fortunate not to have to deal with many injuries over the course of the playoffs. KAT hurt his left hand two games ago, but seems to have shaken that off and there is no doubt he will be playing tonight. The Knicks do have one name on the injury report, and that is Precious Achiuwa who is dealing with an ankle injury. He is listed as questionable, and although he doesn’t play much he could be used for some depth in this pivotal Game 6. He is averaging 4 minutes and 1.5 points in the four games he has played this postseason.
Injury report: Celtics
We already know that Jayson Tatum is on the injury list and will be long into next season, but other than that the C’s have a clean injury report. Porzingis is going to play, despite still feeling the effects of the illness that has shadowed him for most of the second half of the season. Sam Hauser has been on the injury report for a few of the games in this series but came back last game and had a nice impact in Game 5 hitting a couple threes and giving the Celtics some good minutes off the bench.
C's without their star
The Celtics seeing Jayson Tatum go down with an achilles injury that will keep him out until into next season is devastating, but you have to give them credit for how the bounced back and showed that championship grit even without the top dog. The fact is the Celtics know how to win without Tatum. They went 9-2 without him in the regular season and he was forced to miss Game 2 of the first round series against the Magic. The C’s won that game 109-100 and then won Game 5 on Wednesday night 127-102. To claim that this is a better team without Tatum is preposterous, but it has to be said, the Celtics have to feel like they still have a chance in this series.
Calling on Kristaps
The Celtics don’t just have Jayson Tatum’s injury to worry about. Kristaps Porzingis has been battling an illness for most of the second half of the season and it popped up in Game 1 and has hung with him ever since. The Latvian was one of the key pieces to the championship puzzle last year, but in this series he has barely had a chance to make an impact. He started last game but played just 12 minutes and had one point. He is averring 16.4 minutes a game and scoring just over 4 points an outing. Its a far cry his 12 points and 3 rebounds he posted during last year’s title run. With Tatum out, they would love to see Porzingis return to his best form for tonight and maybe a Game 7.
The other guys
This series has been as much about the other guys as it has been about the stars. Guys like Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are the headliners, but the supporting cast has been instrumental in winning for their respective teams. Obviously Derrick White has been huge for the C’s, but so has Payton Pritchard and last game it was Luka Kornet who chipped in some big minutes off the bench. OG Anunoby has been big for New York, so has MIkal Bridges and Deuce McBride. Tonight the stars will have their say, but it’s going to be the unsung heroes who help lift their team to the win.
History of the 3-1 comebacks
As if winning the series without Jayson Tatum wasn’t hard enough, the Celtics are going to have to do it trying to dig out of a 3-1 hole. The defending champions are searching to make history and join a list of just 13 teams to ever complete the comeback from a 3-1 deficit. In the history of the NBA there have been 295 series that have been led by 3-1. Just 4.4% of those teams have comeback to win the series, and the last to do it was the Denver Nuggets who made back to back comebacks from 3-1 deficits in the first and second round of the 2020 playoffs in the Bubble.
Celtics on the road
The Celtics have been better on the road than they have been at home in this series but that shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, because they were the best road team in the Eastern Conference and had the same number of losses as the best regular season team, the OKC Thunder who went 32-8 away from home. The C’s were 33-8 on the road and in their four road games this postseason they are 3-1 having lost just the one game, Game 4 against the Knicks when Tatum went down with the injury. Tonight they are on the road, but strangely enough that might be where they feel most at home.
Live and die by the three
Each game in this series has come down to three point shooting. That’s usually the case with the Celtics who live and die from with the long ball. In the first three games they started games shooting the ball ok, but then they went cold in the final quarter and a half. They went 25/100 in the first two games and ended up losing 20 points leads in both those games. In Game 3 from New York they hit 50% of their 40 three point attempts In Game 4 they shot under 40% from long range but last game they sank 22 of 49 threes with White and Pritchard leading the way. Tonight the C’s know they will have to get hot and stay hot from long range, but so do the Knicks who will be trying to limit them from outside.
Star watch: Kings
I can’t remember the last time someone got five fouls in a quarter, but that is obviously not going to happen for a second straight game. Jalen Brunson fouled out after a flurry of fouls in the second half, and that left the Knicks with no option for another late game comeback. He is Mr. Clutch and New York need him all game long, but especially down the stretch. The Knicks are as close as they have been in 25 year to the Conference Finals and that is largely attributed to Brunson. If they are going to get back to that stage he is going to have to be great tonight against the defending champions.
Star watch: Celtics
We all expected Jaylen Brown to take the keys to the car after the horrendous injury that Tatum suffered in Game 5. That’s not to say he didn’t have a great game on Wednesday, but Derrick White stole the show with his 34 points on 9/16 shooting. White usually plays the role of third option scorer on this team stacked with scoring options. Tatum and Brown are the primary scorers, but this team would be a shade of itself without Derrick White. He’s good for 20 something points, a handful of rebound and a few assists a game when he is playing the supporting cast role, but whenever he gets the green light to take a game over, he takes it. He had 30 points in Game 1 of the first round against the Magic and last game was his best performance maybe of the entire season. Tonight the Celtics are going to need more of the same if they are going to keep their title defense alive.
Game 5 recap
The Boston Celtics had to shake off a Game 4 loss and the loss of their on floor leader on Wednesday night but they dug deep and pulled out a win to keep their season alive from TD Garden. For the second straight game, it was Derrick White coming out of the gates red hot, dropping four threes and setting the tone for the C’s. White and Jaylen Brown got going early and didn’t slow dow, but the game was tight for the first two quarters. A 13-1 run from the Celtics gave them a double digit advantage and Jalen Brunson picked up five fouls in the third quarter. White continued his sharp shooting for the rest of the night leading the team with 34 points on 7/13 shooting from downtown and Brown had 26, 8 rebounds and a career playoff high 12 assists to force Game 6 in New York tonight.
We are live from MSG
Hello everyone and welcome to the Mecca of Basketball where the New York Knicks have a chance to close out the defending champions all the while reaching their first Conference Finals since the turn of the century. They found out how difficult closing out the defending champs is going to be in Game 5, even without their top scorer from the regular season. Jaylen Brown and Derrick White led the way for the Celtics in a must win game from Boston and now the they need to come up with another massive game to keep the season and the back-to-back bid alive. Are the Knicks heading to the Conference Finals or is Boston going to force a Game 7? We find out tonight from MSG.
Celtics vs. Knicks Game 6
It’s Game 6 and the defending champions are facing elimination for a second straight game, this time they will have to fight for survival on the road. Without their star, and one of the best players in the world they were able to take care of business on Wednesday night but they will have to do it all over again tonight from Madison Square Garden. It’s the New York Knicks with a chance to close out the Boston Celtics at home and AS English will be with you all night providing live coverage, stats, highlights and analysis of tonight’s elimination game from the Big Apple.