Knicks' 'desperate' game plan pivotal to take biggest game of season
Share this @internewscast.com

The hype was massive. The stakes were incredibly high. Anticipation was through the Garden’s roof.

Following back-to-back comebacks on the road from a 20-point deficit, Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals was touted as the Knicks’ most significant home game in a quarter of a century.

Friday night will dwarf that Saturday afternoon showdown.

Friday night, the Knicks return to MSG to play a monumental basketball game.

Friday night, Tom Thibodeau’s team can send the defending champion Celtics home.

They have the chance to secure their first entry to the conference finals since 2000, wrap up a playoff series at the Garden for the first time since 1999, and begin to entertain realistic hopes of reaching basketball’s pinnacle event: the NBA Finals.

When this series began, the Knicks were major long shots.

Just getting to a Game 6, most experts believed, would be a success. The first two games of the series turned that narrative on its head.

Then the Knicks rallied from a 14-point, third-quarter deficit in Game 4 and Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles tendon in the final minutes.

Suddenly, they were expected to get by the Celtics. Expectations changed.

With such high expectations, the Knicks are under tremendous pressure to steer clear of needing a return trip to Boston for a decisive Game 7 on Monday night.

The Knicks are favored for the first time in this series.

“We just gotta play desperate. I don’t think we did that [in Game 5],” Mikal Bridges said after the Knicks failed in their first shot to eliminate the Celtics on Wednesday night. “We gotta come out aggressive throughout the whole game.”

In what has been a strange postseason for the Knicks, this has been a bizarre series.



The Celtics have led for almost the entirety of it. Their two wins have come by a combined 47 points.

The Knicks trailed big in their three victories.

In Game 5, they led after the first quarter for the first time, went up nine early in the second quarter, then were crushed the rest of the way.

They defended the perimeter poorly, the offense was stagnant and the game was basically over entering the fourth quarter.

Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby — the Knicks’ four top offensive weapons — all struggled, shooting 31.4 percent from the field between them. The postgame comments were similar to those after Game 3, when the Knicks admitted to lacking urgency.


Follow The Post’s coverage of the Knicks in the 2025 NBA Playoffs

Sports+ subscribers: Sign up for Inside the Knicks to get daily newsletter coverage and join Expert Take for insider texts about the series.


“It’s about winning every single game possible, putting ourselves in position to win, and I think that’s what’s more disappointing is tonight, we didn’t put ourselves in position to win,” Towns said.

In the losing locker room inside TD Garden, the Knicks didn’t want to admit the obvious: that Game 6 is basically a pressure cooker, a must-win game, even if they aren’t facing elimination themselves.

Josh Hart called a question about the magnitude of the game stupid, that they try to win every game.

Of course, that’s true to an extent, this being a Thibodeau-coached team that doesn’t abide by the load management ways of the new-age NBA.

Still, Friday night at the Garden is very much not another game. It’s not even another playoff game.

The Knicks have the kind of opportunity few thought would present itself this spring.

The shorthanded defending champions are on the ropes.

The conference’s other 60-plus-win team, the Cavaliers, has already been eliminated. Home-court advantage in the conference finals is there for the taking.

It feels similar to Game 4, when the Knicks rebounded from that ugly blowout loss two days earlier to take command of the series.

They haven’t lost consecutive playoff games this postseason. No reason to start now.

“We just got to be better. We got another chance at it and we gotta bring the fight,” Bridges said. “We got to be aggressive. We can’t let happen again what happened [on Wednesday].”

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like
Heightened national threat environment influences security at Lollapalooza 2025 in Chicago's Grant Park

Enhanced National Security Concerns Impact Lollapalooza 2025 Safety Measures at Chicago’s Grant Park

Lollapalooza, nestled along Chicago’s Lake Michigan, ranks among the world’s top music…
The Amber Room of the Czars in 1917.

Major Discovery in Search for Hitler’s Gold: Excavation Set to Uncover Legendary $330 Million ‘Amber Room’ Treasure Stolen by Nazis

A BREAKTHROUGH may have been made in the hunt for Hitler’s legendary…

29-Year-Old Intoxicated Passenger Hijacks Airport Golf Cart for Wild Terminal Joyride

WATCH the shocking moment a drunk passenger takes an airport golf cart…
Headshot of Wesley LePatner.

Heartbreaking Moment: Manhattan Shooting Victim’s 14-Year-Old Daughter Breaks Down During Eulogy

A DAUGHTER delivered a heartbreaking eulogy to her mother, who was killed…
Watch: Pres. Trump Puts to Bed the Swirling Media Speculation on Possible Pardons As Only He Can

Watch: President Trump Dispels Media Rumors About Potential Pardons in His Unique Way

On Friday evening, President Donald Trump sat down for a wide-ranging interview…
Tennessee man sought in 4 deaths spent years in prison for robbing a convenience store at age 16

Tennessee Man Wanted for Four Murders Previously Served Time for Convenience Store Robbery at 16

In Nashville, Tennessee, authorities are on the lookout for a suspect involved…
Amusement park ride snaps at Saudi Arabia park, with 23 reported injured

Ride Malfunction at Saudi Park Leaves 23 Injured

An amusement park ride malfunction in Saudi Arabia has reportedly left 23…
Mugshot of Austin Robert Drummond.

Tennessee Man, Austin Drummond, Previously Out on Bail for Murder, Allegedly Killed Four Family Members; Car Located

The suspect wanted for the vicious murders of four family members in…
What to know about the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and its funding cuts

Understanding the Impact of Funding Cuts on the Corporation for Public Broadcasting

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has traditionally funded PBS, NPR, and approximately…
Trump: Hamas surrender, hostage release is ‘fastest way’ to end Gaza war

Trump Suggests Hamas Capitulation and Hostage Release as Quickest Path to Peace in Gaza Conflict

President Donald Trump on Thursday took to Truth Social with a stern…
Chris Cuomo Fields Call After Call From Democrats Admitting They Were Wrong About Trump: ‘I’m Happy’

Chris Cuomo Receives Numerous Calls from Democrats Admitting Regret on Trump Views: ‘I’m Happy’

News Nation anchor Chris Cuomo opened up his show’s phone lines to…
Ryanair plane at Barcelona-El Prat Airport.

Parents Allegedly Leave 10-Year-Old Son at Barcelona Airport Due to Expired Passport to Catch Flight

A COUPLE left their 10-year-old son at Barcelona Airport because his passport…