The New York Knicks have put the rest of the NBA on notice after their performance on Thursday night. They picked up a statement win over the Boston Celtics, who opted not to rest anyone and had their entire roster available to play in the game.
That didn’t matter to the Knicks, who took it to the Celtics on their home court. Boston has lost only two games at home to Eastern Conference teams in the last 405 days. Both of those losses happen to be to their Atlantic Division rivals, who picked up a 118-109 victory last night.
That final score doesn’t do justice to how dominant the Knicks were. They led by 29 points heading into the fourth quarter before the Celtics’ deep reserves had a 3-point shooting barrage in the fourth quarter.
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Boston had zero answers for Jalen Brunson, who scored 39 points without stepping on the floor in the fourth quarter. No matter what Joe Mazzulla tried to do, Brunson and the Knicks had a counter as they got whatever they wanted against the best-rated defensive team in the NBA.
You would think that a victory of that magnitude would garner some respect for the Knicks. Yet, after the game, there was still none. When speaking on Inside the NBA on TNT after the game, NBA legends Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley came to a consensus, agreeing that New York will be eliminated by the Indiana Pacers if that is the first-round matchup in the Eastern Conference.
Ernie Johnson does mention that the Pacers won the season series against the Knicks, but that should come with a huge asterisk. The first matchup was on the day the Knicks made the blockbuster trade with the Toronto Raptors to acquire OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn, leaving the team short-handed.
In the second matchup, Jalen Brunson led the Knicks on an incredible comeback the night he was named an NBA All-Star for the first time. In the third matchup, the starting center was Taj Gibson as New York had only nine healthy players. None of the games were played with OG Anunoby in the lineup, whom the Knicks have an 18-3 record with when he plays.
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This isn’t the first time that O’Neal has taken a shot at the Knicks. Recently, he also proclaimed that the Orlando Magic would sweep them should New York be matched up with them in the first round.
The disrespect toward the Knicks is nothing new and is likely something they use for motivation. They thrive in the underdog role and aren’t afraid of facing any team in the NBA. Head coach Tom Thibodeau has them prepared night in and night out regardless of the opponent.
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