The Boston Celtics are excluded in the NBA playoffs. The record champions collected a bitter defeat in game six at the archrival.
The New York Knicks ended the title dream of NBA record champions Boston Celtics in an impressive way. In the sixth game of the quarter -final series, the team from the Big Apple clearly defeated the injury -plagued previous year’s champion with 119: 81 and won the decisive fourth victory.
The Knicks have been in the Eastern Conference final in 25 years, opponents are the Indiana Pacers from Wednesday (local time).
Derrick White (left) and the Boston Celtics are out of the NBA playoffs
“Feel like death”
New York defeated the arch-rival, whose top star Jayson Tatum suffered a Achilles tendon tear in game four, over the width: six kink players scored double-digit points, especially Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby with 23 points each. The German Rookie Ariel Hukporti was not used. Top scorer of the Celtics was Jaylen Brown with 20 points.
“Losing against the Knicks feels like death. But I was always taught that there is a life after death, so we prepare for everything that comes next on our trip,” said Brown.
Knicks star praises team
The game was practically decided in the second quarter, which the Knicks dominated 38:17. At halftime it was already 64:37 from the perspective of the hosts in the Madison Square Garden in front of noble fans such as Timothée Chalamet, Lenny Kravitz, Ben Stiller and Spike Lee.
“They defeated ourselves in the fifth game and we reacted tonight,” said Brunson at ESPN , whose father Rick had stood in the Eastern-Conference final with New York 2000: “This is great. I mean the fact that we were no longer here since my father was in a team-it means this organization and this city a lot.”
“Great from start to finish”
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau found the performance of his team “great from the beginning to finish”. The Celtics are offensive and defensive “an excellent team, they play their style, no matter what happens, and therefore do not give you anything. You have to earn it. And I think we did it.”
Boston’s head coach Joe Mazzulla admitted kinked: “Ultimately, we set ourselves a goal and did not achieve it.”