2 hundred ninety-three groups in NBA playoff historical past have taken a 3-1 sequence lead.
2 hundred eighty of them — about 97% — went on to win.
The Knicks now stand one win away from becoming a member of that membership. With a victory in Sport 5 at TD Backyard on Wednesday, they received’t simply remove the reigning champion Boston Celtics — they’ll punch their first ticket to the Jap Convention Finals since 2000.
Which is why, buried beneath the priority as assistants carried Jayson Tatum off the Madison Sq. Backyard flooring — then later wheelchaired him by way of the tunnel, tears streaming down his face — there was quiet celebration contained in the Knicks’ locker room.
As a result of whereas the damage forged a shadow, the Knicks had earned the win lengthy earlier than Tatum’s exit.
They’d taken Boston’s finest shot. They trailed by 14 within the first half. After which — in what’s develop into their postseason signature — they rallied. Sport 4 wasn’t simply one other comeback. It was a press release. One which made the trail to the NBA Finals clearer than it’s been in 1 / 4 century.
“It was a great win. First and foremost, obviously prayers to Jayson Tatum. You hate to see that. The NBA is a brotherhood,” stated Josh Hart. “But a win like this? Huge. Down at the half, took the lead in the fourth, didn’t look back. They kept throwing punches — they’re a heck of a team — but we kept working.”
The Knicks weren’t imagined to be right here. Not in opposition to these Celtics.
Boston entered the sequence as -770 favorites — bettors needed to wager practically $800 simply to win $100. It wasn’t simply hype. It mirrored actuality: a 4-0 regular-season sweep, together with two early-season blowouts that separated contenders from pretenders.
So: Who’s pretending now?
The Knicks now have the perfect odds of any workforce within the East to achieve the 2025 NBA Finals. They usually unseated the champs lengthy earlier than Tatum’s devastating damage.
This wasn’t a present. The Knicks earn and take their wins.
They erased 20-point deficits in Video games 1 and a pair of. They stormed again in Sport 4. And now, after getting swept 4-0 by Boston within the common season, they’re on the verge of flipping the script with a gentleman’s sweep of their very own in Spherical 2.
They’ve overwhelmed the defending champs 3 times in 4 tries — all after being dismissed as undersized, overmatched, and overhyped.
“It means a lot. A good game for us. But it’s the way we responded that I’m most proud of,” stated Jalen Brunson. “We stuck together. We didn’t quit. That’s a tough team — they’re the defending champs for a reason. But we kept finding ways.”
“That team is special,” stated Karl-Anthony Cities. “They’re defending champions. It takes a whole team to beat them.”
And that’s precisely what the Knicks have develop into: entire. Collectively. This 3-1 sequence lead is the product of imaginative and prescient and danger — of daring offseason swings with no security web. They named Brunson captain. Gave OG Anunoby a franchise-record $212.5 million deal. Despatched 5 first-round picks throughout the bridge for Mikal Bridges. Traded Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo for Cities. Watched Isaiah Hartenstein stroll to the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder in free company.
Cities introduced spacing and selflessness to the 5. Anunoby and Bridges have finished what they have been paid to do — shut down stars like Tatum and Jaylen Brown. And Brunson? He’s the top of the snake. The engine. The center.
Even with three wins of their pocket — even with a path so clear Stevie Surprise may see it — the Knicks aren’t happy. They know what’s subsequent.
As a result of even when they end Boston in 5 — no small feat in opposition to a workforce that went 8-2 with out Tatum — the Pacers is perhaps ready. Indiana additionally holds a 3-1 lead over the top-seeded Cavaliers. An Indiana victory would set the stage for a high-stakes rematch of final 12 months’s playoff conflict — a second-round sequence the Pacers received with tempo, depth, and recent legs.
Their 11-man rotation hasn’t modified. The Knicks? They’ve modified all the things — and the query is what number of gamers Tom Thibodeau will belief to ship him to his first NBA Finals. The Pacers will take a look at the very depth the Knicks lack boasting the NBA’s lowest-scoring bench throughout the common season.
That, in fact, is tomorrow’s drawback. In the present day, the main target stays dealing with the duty at hand.
Quickly, the Knicks could develop into workforce No. 294 — or 295 — to shut the door after going up 3-1. However like each milestone this season, it received’t be celebrated lengthy. The second they exhale is the second they offer one thing again. The second you begin smelling your self is the second you lose your edge.
And the Knicks? They’re not out of the woods but. However the gentle is peeking by way of. And it’s shining on the clearest path to a championship this franchise has had in 25 years.
“For the longest time, whenever something’s accomplished, I’m already moving forward to the next,” Brunson stated. “That’s simply how I’ve all the time been. Highschool, faculty championships — something I’ve ever received, there’s no trophies or plaques in my home. I give them to my mother and father and transfer on.
“When I’m done, maybe I’ll look back. But for now? I’m only looking forward.”
As a result of these Knicks aren’t chasing validation. They’re chasing June. And with the champs one loss from extinction, these Knicks aren’t simply knocking on historical past’s door.
They’re able to kick it in.
Initially Printed: Might 13, 2025 at 3:57 PM EDT
