The Setup: A Tough Spot
Picture this: it’s the playoffs, and the Knicks are in Boston, facing the defending champs. The Celtics, with their swagger, their banners, and their stars like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, are no joke. The Knicks, though? They’re different this year. They’ve got Jalen Brunson, the little engine that could, plus new faces like Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns, who came over in blockbuster trades. Under coach Tom Thibodeau, this team’s got grit, heart, and a chip on its shoulder. But let’s be real nobody thought they’d steal Game 1 in Boston, especially not after going 0-4 against the Celtics in the regular season.
The game started rough. By the third quarter, the Knicks were down 20 points, and it felt like the air was sucked out of every fan watching. I mean, a tweet from Kristian Winfield at the New York Daily News basically called it quits, saying, “This one’s over.” Oof. You could almost hear the collective sigh from Knicks fans, like, “Here we go again.” But if there’s one thing this team’s taught us, it’s that they don’t quit. Ever.
The Comeback: Pure Magic
Then, something shifted. The Knicks’ defense, that classic Thibodeau wall, started locking in. Boston’s offense, usually a well-oiled machine, fell apart. Get this: the Celtics missed 45 of their 60 three-pointers, setting an NBA playoff record for brick city. That’s 25% from deep yikes! It was like the basketball gods decided to give New York a chance.
Jalen Brunson, who’d been quiet early, woke up like he’d chugged a double espresso. He started hitting step-back threes, slicing through defenders, and just being the guy we’ve all fallen in love with. Then there was OG Anunoby man, what a night. He dropped 29 points, including six threes, and had this monster dunk in transition after a steal that made the bench go wild. Together, Brunson and Anunoby outscored Boston 53-30 in the third quarter alone, tying the game at 86-86 by the fourth. Can you imagine the vibes? Fans were probably spilling their beers screaming at the TV.
The fourth quarter was pure chaos, in the best way. Brunson kept cooking, hitting two huge threes against Al Horford that gave the Knicks a 97-91 lead. Karl-Anthony Towns, who’d been in foul trouble, came through with a clutch tip-in in overtime, finishing with 14 points and 13 boards. And Mikal Bridges? He had a rough shooting night (2-for-12), but he hit a massive corner three in OT and sealed the game with a steal on Jaylen Brown. That’s the kind of heart this team’s got everybody steps up when it counts.
Overtime: Knickstape at Its Finest
Regulation ended with a heartbreaker Brunson missed a layup that could’ve won it, and we went to overtime. But the Knicks didn’t blink. Bridges was everywhere on defense, Towns was battling in the paint, and Anunoby kept hitting big shots. When Brunson sank two free throws in the final minute to lock in the 108-105 win, it was over. The Knicks had done the impossible, coming back from 20 points down against the champs on their home court. They even overcame another 20-point deficit in the previous game, making them the first team to pull that off in back-to-back playoff games. Unreal.
Josh Hart, who played like he was possessed, later said Winfield’s “game over” tweet fired him up. “I was playing angry,” he laughed, calling the reporter the real MVP. That’s the Knicks’ vibe right now nobody believes in us, so we’ll show you.
New York Loses Its Mind
When the buzzer sounded, Knicks fans at TD Garden went bananas, screaming so loud you’d think they outnumbered the Celtics fans. Back in New York, it was a full-on party. Bars in Hell’s Kitchen, Flatbush, and everywhere else were packed, with fans chanting “Let’s Go Knicks!” like it was a religion. Social media? Absolute madness. X was flooded with videos of fans dancing outside MSG, where people had gathered to watch on big screens. One post from
@nyknicks
called it the biggest playoff comeback since at least 1969-70. Another fan,
@elvistanyi2020
, dropped a YouTube link to a highlight reel titled “Brunson’s Epic Night!” It was the kind of night where you text your group chat at 2 a.m. still hyped.
I heard from a buddy who was at a watch party in Brooklyn that it felt like the city won the Finals. “My grandpa was there, my kid was there, and we were all losing our voices,” he said. That’s what this team does it brings people together. For a fanbase that’s been through so much decades without a title, all those almosts in the ’90s this win was like a shot of adrenaline straight to the heart.
Why This Matters
This wasn’t just any win. It’s up there with the greatest Knicks playoff moments, like when Clyde Frazier dropped 37 in a 17-point comeback against Boston in ’73. That one took two overtimes; this one was a straight-up gut punch to the Celtics in one. Historically, teams that steal Game 1 on the road win their series 51.6% of the time since 1984. If the Knicks could’ve grabbed Game 2 (which, fingers crossed, they were fighting for on May 7), those odds jump to 85.7%. For a team that hasn’t sniffed the Conference Finals since 2000, this was huge.
More than that, it showed who these Knicks are. They’re not the Ewing teams leaning on one guy, or the Carmelo squads that couldn’t get over the hump. This group’s got depth, heart, and a coach who’d probably run through a brick wall for them. Brunson’s the star, but Anunoby’s a two-way beast, Bridges is a defensive monster, and Towns is finding his groove. It’s Knickstape, baby—tough, scrappy, and never out of it.
What’s Next?
Look, we’re not getting too ahead of ourselves. The Celtics are champs for a reason, and they weren’t gonna shoot 25% from three forever. Game 2 was gonna be a dogfight, especially with Kristaps Porzingis potentially back for Boston. The Knicks had stuff to clean up too like Towns staying out of foul trouble and Brunson not starting so slow. Plus, every Knicks fan knows our history: Reggie Miller’s eight points in nine seconds, Starks going 2-for-18 in ’94. We’ve been burned before.
But for one night, none of that mattered. May 6, 2025, was about joy, about believing again. It was about Brunson hitting daggers, Anunoby flying for dunks, and a city coming alive. Whether this is the start of a championship run or just a moment we’ll tell our kids about, it’s ours. From the bodegas to the Garden, New York celebrated like only we can loud, proud, and all in.
Picture this: it’s the playoffs, and the Knicks are in Boston, facing the defending champs. The Celtics, with their swagger, their banners, and their stars like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, are no joke. The Knicks, though? They’re different this year. They’ve got Jalen Brunson, the little engine that could, plus new faces like Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns, who came over in blockbuster trades. Under coach Tom Thibodeau, this team’s got grit, heart, and a chip on its shoulder. But let’s be real nobody thought they’d steal Game 1 in Boston, especially not after going 0-4 against the Celtics in the regular season.
The game started rough. By the third quarter, the Knicks were down 20 points, and it felt like the air was sucked out of every fan watching. I mean, a tweet from Kristian Winfield at the New York Daily News basically called it quits, saying, “This one’s over.” Oof. You could almost hear the collective sigh from Knicks fans, like, “Here we go again.” But if there’s one thing this team’s taught us, it’s that they don’t quit. Ever.
The Comeback: Pure Magic
Then, something shifted. The Knicks’ defense, that classic Thibodeau wall, started locking in. Boston’s offense, usually a well-oiled machine, fell apart. Get this: the Celtics missed 45 of their 60 three-pointers, setting an NBA playoff record for brick city. That’s 25% from deep yikes! It was like the basketball gods decided to give New York a chance.
Jalen Brunson, who’d been quiet early, woke up like he’d chugged a double espresso. He started hitting step-back threes, slicing through defenders, and just being the guy we’ve all fallen in love with. Then there was OG Anunoby man, what a night. He dropped 29 points, including six threes, and had this monster dunk in transition after a steal that made the bench go wild. Together, Brunson and Anunoby outscored Boston 53-30 in the third quarter alone, tying the game at 86-86 by the fourth. Can you imagine the vibes? Fans were probably spilling their beers screaming at the TV.
The fourth quarter was pure chaos, in the best way. Brunson kept cooking, hitting two huge threes against Al Horford that gave the Knicks a 97-91 lead. Karl-Anthony Towns, who’d been in foul trouble, came through with a clutch tip-in in overtime, finishing with 14 points and 13 boards. And Mikal Bridges? He had a rough shooting night (2-for-12), but he hit a massive corner three in OT and sealed the game with a steal on Jaylen Brown. That’s the kind of heart this team’s got everybody steps up when it counts.
Overtime: Knickstape at Its Finest
Regulation ended with a heartbreaker Brunson missed a layup that could’ve won it, and we went to overtime. But the Knicks didn’t blink. Bridges was everywhere on defense, Towns was battling in the paint, and Anunoby kept hitting big shots. When Brunson sank two free throws in the final minute to lock in the 108-105 win, it was over. The Knicks had done the impossible, coming back from 20 points down against the champs on their home court. They even overcame another 20-point deficit in the previous game, making them the first team to pull that off in back-to-back playoff games. Unreal.
Josh Hart, who played like he was possessed, later said Winfield’s “game over” tweet fired him up. “I was playing angry,” he laughed, calling the reporter the real MVP. That’s the Knicks’ vibe right now nobody believes in us, so we’ll show you.
New York Loses Its Mind
When the buzzer sounded, Knicks fans at TD Garden went bananas, screaming so loud you’d think they outnumbered the Celtics fans. Back in New York, it was a full-on party. Bars in Hell’s Kitchen, Flatbush, and everywhere else were packed, with fans chanting “Let’s Go Knicks!” like it was a religion. Social media? Absolute madness. X was flooded with videos of fans dancing outside MSG, where people had gathered to watch on big screens. One post from
@nyknicks
called it the biggest playoff comeback since at least 1969-70. Another fan,
@elvistanyi2020
, dropped a YouTube link to a highlight reel titled “Brunson’s Epic Night!” It was the kind of night where you text your group chat at 2 a.m. still hyped.
I heard from a buddy who was at a watch party in Brooklyn that it felt like the city won the Finals. “My grandpa was there, my kid was there, and we were all losing our voices,” he said. That’s what this team does it brings people together. For a fanbase that’s been through so much decades without a title, all those almosts in the ’90s this win was like a shot of adrenaline straight to the heart.
Why This Matters
This wasn’t just any win. It’s up there with the greatest Knicks playoff moments, like when Clyde Frazier dropped 37 in a 17-point comeback against Boston in ’73. That one took two overtimes; this one was a straight-up gut punch to the Celtics in one. Historically, teams that steal Game 1 on the road win their series 51.6% of the time since 1984. If the Knicks could’ve grabbed Game 2 (which, fingers crossed, they were fighting for on May 7), those odds jump to 85.7%. For a team that hasn’t sniffed the Conference Finals since 2000, this was huge.
More than that, it showed who these Knicks are. They’re not the Ewing teams leaning on one guy, or the Carmelo squads that couldn’t get over the hump. This group’s got depth, heart, and a coach who’d probably run through a brick wall for them. Brunson’s the star, but Anunoby’s a two-way beast, Bridges is a defensive monster, and Towns is finding his groove. It’s Knickstape, baby—tough, scrappy, and never out of it.
What’s Next?
Look, we’re not getting too ahead of ourselves. The Celtics are champs for a reason, and they weren’t gonna shoot 25% from three forever. Game 2 was gonna be a dogfight, especially with Kristaps Porzingis potentially back for Boston. The Knicks had stuff to clean up too like Towns staying out of foul trouble and Brunson not starting so slow. Plus, every Knicks fan knows our history: Reggie Miller’s eight points in nine seconds, Starks going 2-for-18 in ’94. We’ve been burned before.
But for one night, none of that mattered. May 6, 2025, was about joy, about believing again. It was about Brunson hitting daggers, Anunoby flying for dunks, and a city coming alive. Whether this is the start of a championship run or just a moment we’ll tell our kids about, it’s ours. From the bodegas to the Garden, New York celebrated like only we can loud, proud, and all in.
