Jalen Brunson, Knicks Reportedly Had Players-Only Meeting Before G6 Win vs. Celtics
On the heels of a disappointing effort in Game 5, New York Knicks players convened to discuss what went wrong and how they could avoid the same fate with an opportunity to close out the Boston Celtics on their home court in Game 6.
Per The Athletic's Fred Katz, the Knicks held a players-only meeting at the team's practice facility the day after their 127-102 loss to talk about what went wrong and make sure they were all on the same page.
The message delivered was clear: "Performances like the one in Game 5, when the Celtics outplayed, outhustled and outthought the Knicks, were unacceptable," Katz wrote.
Katz noted some people with the Knicks weren't surprised they came out flat on Wednesday because their "mentality heading into the evening wasn’t focused enough."
The meeting, combined with the chance to close out the Celtics at Madison Square Garden on Friday, proved to be exactly what the Knicks needed in a 118-91 victory.
After some sloppy play from both teams in the first quarter, the Knicks steamrolled Boston 38-17 in the second quarter to take a 27-point lead into halftime. They eventually extended the advantage to 41 points late in the third quarter.
By that point, the celebration in New York was on. The Knicks put away the Celtics to avoid having to go back to Boston for a winner-take-all Game 7. They also clinched their first appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals since the 1999-2000 season.
Four of the Knicks' five starters scored at least 20 points. Josh Hart was the only one who didn't hit that mark, but he posted a triple-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
Having now eliminated their chief rival, the Knicks will have to get by an old playoff nemesis in the Indiana Pacers to reach the NBA Finals. This will be the ninth all-time postseason meeting between the two teams, with Indiana holding a 5-3 edge overall.
The Knicks lost to the Pacers in seven games in the Eastern Conference semifinals last year. New York will host Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.
