The New York Knicks have a crucial opportunity to reach the Conference Finals for the first time since 2000, facing the Boston Celtics at home. Despite injuries to Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis, the Celtics are pushing back, buoyed by strong performances from Derrick White and Jaylen Brown. The Celtics are trying to become the first back-to-back champions since 2018 but face a tough challenge against the Knicks, who lead the series. The Knicks, led by Jalen Brunson, need solid contributions from teammates to secure the series at Madison Square Garden.
Derrick White led the way at TD Garden in Game 5 with 34 points coupled with 26 points, eight rebounds and 12 assists from Jaylen Brown to give the defending champions new life heading back to Madison Square Garden on Friday.
The stars simply haven't aligned for the Celtics this postseason as they aim to become the first back-to-back champions since the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018, but they aren't dead yet.
Since the Knicks took a 2-0 lead in the series after the Celtics blew consecutive 20-point leads, Boston has scored 129.6 points per 100 possessions marking New York's worst three-game stretch of defense this season.
Led by Jalen Brunson's 29.4 points a game in the playoffs, the Knicks are in the driving seat to close out the series on home turf but they'll need solid production and defense from Karl Anthony-Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart to do so.
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