Celtics-Knicks Schedule Set For Rivals’ First Playoff Series Since 2013
It’s hard to believe, but when the Celtics and Knicks tip things off Monday, it will mark just the fourth playoff series between the historic rivals in the last 35 years.
The defending champion Celtics are currently enjoying a lengthy rest after knocking off the Orlando Magic in five games. They sat back and watched as the Knicks and Detroit Pistons leaned on each other for a surprisingly grueling series that New York survived with a Game 6 win Thursday night.
Now, for the first time since 2013, the Celtics and Knicks will square off in the playoffs, and a trip to the Eastern Conference finals is on the line. The dates were set before New York eliminated the upstart Pistons, but we can now fill in the full schedule for the best-of-seven series between division rivals.
(All times are still to be determined.)
Game 1: New York at Boston, May 5
Game 2: New York at Boston, May 7
Game 3: Boston at New York, May 10
Game 4: Boston at New York, May 12
Game 5: New York at Boston, May 14 (if necessary)
Game 6: Boston at New York, May 16 (if necessary)
Game 7: New York at Boston, May 19 (if necessary)
The Knicks hope to make this a little more competitive than they did in the regular season. Boston swept the four-game regular-season series. Only one of those games was even close, with three C’s wins by double-digits, including a 23- and 27-point blowouts.
This is just the fourth Celtics-Knicks series since 1990, and it’s the first time the two teams have met beyond the first round since 1984. New York won the last postseason meeting, eliminating Boston in the first round in 2013. That ended up being the final Celtics games for both Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, as well as head coach Doc Rivers.
So, yeah. It’s been a bit. This also marks the first Boston-New York playoff matchup in any of the big four sports since the Red Sox and Yankees met in the 2021 American League wild-card game. The Bruins also played the Islanders in the Stanley Cup playoffs a few months prior.