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2025 Round 2 Game Thread: Knicks @ Celtics, Game 5 – Close Your Eyes, Close the Door

Come on, how is this a 7pm game?

Anyhow, let’s just get this done.

Let’s go, Knicks!

9 wins left to go!

The Dylan tune is “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight.”

384 replies on “2025 Round 2 Game Thread: Knicks @ Celtics, Game 5 – Close Your Eyes, Close the Door”

Given the way the Tatum injury has been covered as “a tragedy” in Boston I’m surprised they didn’t have a moment of silence for him before the game.

i get jrue is a bulldog but let’s post kat on him instead of having him try to dribble around him 22 ft out

Hart needs one of his games from the 1st rd last year cause Boston is going out of there way to ignore Hart as much as possible.

Bridges seems ready to go from tipoff (are we allowed to say that?)

And KAT gers two whistles, already. Dream?

One day Jaylen Brown will realize that yelling every time you go up for a shot isn’t going to get you a foul call.

KAT gets a whistle!

Maybe the refs were embarrassed from the last game…

Totally seems like we expected to be able to sleepwalk through this game since Tatum is out.

White has no moves or anything just normally dribbling it up the court and shooting 3s.

Have we made some sort of deal to spot Derrick White 10+ points every first quarter?

Is it because he has the eyes of a 6 month old baby?

Looks like a broken nose or something for Hart, looks like he was in a boxing match

Doesn’t look like a flagrant. But that was a gusher.

Glad Brunson hit Jaylen in the nuts though…

Doesn’t look like a flagrant. But they should still throw Kornet out of the league, and Embiid too.

Nice shot to the nuts, JB – don’t think they’re going to get that call, given that they are so physical with JB coming up the court

seems like the right call. luckily mike and ike’s are natural coagulants

Surprised that Brunson’s elbow hurt anything — since Brown’s got no balls…

Still here, my fellow KBers, just a little overwhelmed by the (new) job. But i’m ecstatic with our 3-1 lead, and have high hopes that we finally get back to the ECF… it’s been 25 years! Maybe the Finals! 🙂

OG has been low-key killing us this game so far. Would be nice if he gets it together.

seems like the right call. luckily mike and ike’s are natural coagulants

Raven is a Big Black Birdsays:
May 14, 2025 at 19:28
Surprised that Brunson’s elbow hurt anything — since Brown’s got no balls

Two laughs in a row

Raven is a Big Black Birdsays:
May 14, 2025 at 19:28
Surprised that Brunson’s elbow hurt anything — since Brown’s got no balls

That’s so Raven

Feels like this game will be close at the half and we’ll pull away if they stop shooting 50% from 3/Derrick White stops playing like the best shooter that ever existed.

With luck Jalen gets pissed that they’re targeting him so relentlessly and makes them pay on the other end

It’s funny how everyone decided to stop talking about shooting variance now that Boston has been shooting lights out, way above their normal range.

My god that moving screen by Porziningis on the Pritchard three was egregious. He pushed him for 7 steps!

Cmon Mitch, make one.

You know how you know you are becoming your parents?

Underhanded please

Can’t decide whether their shooting or Mitch’s is crazier

For the love of God can we finally realize that all Boston is gonna do is shoot fucking 3s.

Feels like this game is gonna finish with no available centers

Kind of amazed by how loud the Knicks fans are

Sounds like Philadelphia.

Celtics fans sold all their tickets.

Knicks need to finish this series tonight before they start losing players due to loss of blood.

15 3PAs in the quarter is way too many. You want less variance, if they shoot 60, they might win it.

I’m so confused. All Knicks doing what they’re supposed to and Mitch with better free throw % than KP.

How did KP never learn to do what Horford just did in backing down Bridges?

We want to end their season tonight, we look locked in (Towns excepted)

What’s really changed about this team is that we look like smart and poised on every possession. You couldn’t say that until recently

I don’t understand the relationship between the refs and Towns, but if he hauled off and KO’d a couple of them and got suspended for 6 months I could live with it. That man has way more self control than me. I would have hired contract killers by now. He gets called for every ticky tack BS foul imaginable but gets mugged 5 times a game and nothing.

This is how you close them out, keep up defensive pressure, hunt the ball, hit the open shot.

Brown/Tingus are clearly hurt, take advantage of that.

Guess the refs were told to keep the Celtics in the game

So did the elbow to the eye reset Josh’s vision so he can hit 3s now? Lol

We are so stupid on defense sometimes. Why are you doubling Horford off White??

Come on, dudes, these guys are Old Yeller. Just put them down for all of our good!

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You simply love to see a playoff game with both sides throwing haymakers.

Minor issue but replace Payne with Delon.

We might see Vildoza before we see Delon.

Kat & OG smoked together something
Thank God Mitch didn’t!!!

Gives me no pleasure… cof, cof… to say that Celtics fans look sad! 😀

‘Only’ 10 3PTAs in the second quarter. That’s a more manageable rate for the game.

Was Boston trying to intentionally foul and they didn’t call it or were we in the bonus and they just don’t call anything?

How is that not a foul against Brunson given the shit they call on Towns?

The NBA is basically on the same level as boxing at this point. Everyone knows there is politics involved in the judging of boxing but we are dumb enough to keep watching, disregard the official result and know who really won.

The NBA is moving into the same category.

Well, we never went down 20, so … good.

We got a lot of “free” points from Mitch, Josh, and Deuce. Mikal started hot, but we went away from him somehow. OG is stoned as folks have noticed.

Let’s come out strong in Q3.

We should have been up by a dozen. Breakdowns that led to open 3s and inconsistent pick and roll defense is the problem. Blitzing the pick and roll against Boston is lethal. The energy is there though, and Brunson seems determined to take us home tonight. Fingers crossed. We need to rest before Indiana.

We should have been up by a dozen.

Boston is probably saying the same thing.

Does it feel like the Knicks are up 3-1 and tied in Boston Garden but like 90% of the talking heads are all about Celtics?
I mean, Tatum, Jaylen Brown, White…and they’re getting their butts tanned to date.
The Knicks are the Cinderella story…

If we fought over Horford screens would we draw fouls? His elbows get awfully wide on those.

KAT’s stupid fouls were big. And very stupid. You can’t keep taking yourself out of the game like this.

We should be up 10 but still tied despite hot boston shooting. No worries

I have a feeling Brown is gonna try and take over in the second half, which should work out well for the Knicks.

90% of the talking heads are all about Celtics?

Was gonna say same. If the Celtics are eliminated, halftime shows will just be crickets.

We might see Vildoza before we see Delon.

Hahaha. Now Alan will show up, because he always answers the Vildoza comments. LOL

Can we call Vildoza OAKAAK? He didn’t play a single minute.

I blame that Hart-Brown thing entirely on the referees.

Boston really needs to ask themselves why they run offense through Tatum instead of Brown…

They only have two guys scoring and we’re not guarding one of them.

Superman movies have actually been on as bad a run as the Knicks were before Brunson.

Somebody needs to make a supercut of all the bad calls and no calls on Towns.

Bridges hasn’t had the chance to do his thing, yet. Now?

I totally get KAT’s fouls, because he never gets the same calls. But he needs to control this.

Yeah we should’ve all known Knicks were gonna pull this shit tonight.

Way too commercial of a series to go down in 5 but…you never know

White hitting trailing threes all night and nothing done about it. Come on coach! Make it 4 on 4!

I thought I could make it through the game without drinking but just cracked a nice cab.

I do not understand how White is getting all these open looks. No, that’s not right — I do not understand WHY White is getting all these open looks.

I’m going to crack a yellow cab if White steps into one more easy three

Tbh. Brunson is a little jeckyl and Hyde. He’s had some pretty bad games

Hart landing at 3p shooter’s landing area has to stop some day

Games like tonight is why we have developed such a strong love hate relationship with this Knicks team.

These assholes can’t miss

They are a good team without Tatum.

Series going to be tough to close out

No substitutions throughout this run.

Josh Hart is not in foul trouble, so, you know ….

If you told me the Knicks were defending this poorly on purpose so they could come back from 20 again I would believe it.

14 FTAs in a quarter

Not the first time whistle goes against us. But we are not playing well at all in this the third quarter.

Knicks were up 9 in the 2nd quarter with the Celtics reeling, instead of putting them away the Knicks have let Boston back into the series.

Total failure by starters. Iso ball with Towns invisible ( should be posting up) and the defense in nowhere.

Allowing Kornet and Derrick White to dominate us is beyond comprehension!

We’re not playing well, but Tony brothers with another MVP performance so far.

Brunson is a bigger weak link defensively than KAT.

KAT is zero on both ends of the floor.

This is so fucking weak by the Knicks, I mean I’m not surprised knowing this team’s history but still doesn’t excuse this embarrassing performance.

They are planting Kornet under the basket because of Josh Hart and Thibs refuses to take him out.

Is there a reason thibs didn’t make a sub in the 3rd to the starters ?

Oh man, it’s not coaching. The Knicks are fouling too much and the refs are calling ticky tack shit on the Knicks too.

I may have overestimated the NBA. It’s not like boxing. It’s closer to WWE.

OG played the whole quarter and was the worst player in the court

Pull him play mcbride, make a sub

Fouls have taken the aggression from the Knicks and the Celtics are burning very hot right now. Can they sustain it?

Is there a reason thibs didn’t make a sub in the 3rd to the starters ?

Sometimes a girl will wear a red sweater and if she gets a lot of compliments on it she will wear it every four days for the rest of the year.

That’s why Thibs is using the same strategy that worked in game 4.

I may have overestimated the NBA. It’s not like boxing. It’s closer to WWE.

The draft lottery pretty much proved that . Make nico look dumb and reward him

So OG is hurt right?

We are totally gonna lose this series. If they force G7 it’s over

Quite an offensive set there…. everyone run to the perimeter and go iso-Deuce

Third quarter of doom. I don’t think there is a way back from this tonight.

This team can take you from heaven to Dante’s Nine Circles of Hell in a heartbeat.

The officiating doesn’t change the fact we’re playing like garbage

Rough coach needs to make a sub, starting 5 wasn’t cutting it . React

At least if the Knicks pull this same shit on Friday I can switch over to the Yankees Mets game.

Down 15, Brunson with 5 fouls, KAT with 4.

Yeah not feeling a comeback tonight

Have never seen such a swing from beautiful basketball to this slop in back to back games and that’s saying a lot.

The refs have been absolutely terrible. It is definitely a factor – though we’re back to our terrible offensive offense, too. But at least three calls were clearly wrong. That Jaylen Brown flop driving vs Towns was nuts.

@strat

BYGAWD ITS TONY BROTHERS WITH A STEEL CHAIR

I thought you were going to write it’s Tony Brothers with his “nasty green tongue!”

Luke looks like he never sleeps

Lol, thought the same thing

The Celtics shooting FTs in every possession means they are facing a set defense every time.

But Thibs also refused to put shooters to drag Kornet from the basket.

Have never seen such a swing from beautiful basketball to this slop in back to back games and that’s saying a lot.

The beautiful basketball was an outlier in a series full of slop.

Looking forward to hearing and reading everyone in the media over the next couple of days predicting Boston to win this series.

It’s unbelievable! A totally different team came out of the locker room in the second half. It’s unbelievable!

We have so many zeroes on the floor tonight… just can’t survive when 90% of your team doesn’t show up …

Did we ever believe there would be a game where Mitch is the one guy out there not really in foul trouble?

darulessays:
May 14, 2025 at 10:48
Not so scared of Pritchard. Without Tatum, and with KP playing on fumes and Horford apparently aging, they’re smallish and we should destroy them down low and on the boards. Unless they have a career night from a bench big.

Ladies and gentlemen, Luke Kornet.

Feels like it is Mitch against four Celtics on the boards…

It feels like Mitch against five Celtics on the floor!

Down 20 again, but this time no Tatum to do a bunch of pointless iso and other brain-dead shit.

@BrunsonPeroneusLongussays

It’s feeling more like a steel chair tonight lol.

Silver shocked at ratings falling

Maybe Dolan called them because he wants the money from game 6 ? 😀 😛

Tough to take three from the Celtics at home

I mean, that’s really it. We built a 3-1 cushion, they’re desperate, now we close it out on Friday.

It is definitely Mitch against everyone on boards… our vaunted wings are shit on the glass

The beautiful basketball was an outlier in a series full of slop.

It only looks beautiful when Bridges and OG score. It’s been the same all season long.

Tough to take three from the Celtics at home

They don’t have Tatum.they should try and compete better than this.

How can the Pacers close out in 5 on the road … Isn’t the other team desperate as well?

game was tied at halftime and the Knicks actually started the 3rd with a Hart 3.

I’m 6 ft 190 lbs with no athleticism or ball handling skills and not sure Brunson could even guard me.

I’m 6 ft 190 lbs with no athleticism or ball handling skills and not sure Brunson could even guard me.

And KAT couldn’t post you up

Honestly just want to get out of this game without an injury. OG in particular should not get back in with that hamstring,

No KAT would post the shit out of me up its ust he’d also be called for a few offensive fouls in the process.

No heart tonight. Guess they’ll have a little more urgency at home.

They look like they’ve quit. Maybe they let the refs get to them?

They lookes like champions for the first ~20 minutes and then they all got possessed by a middle school team. Crazy.

They definitely quit. Shameless performance with a chance to move on.

Timmy Chalamet regretting his trip to the burbs.

No Kendall Jenner, though. She doesn’t do borough.

Racking up 6 fouls on Jalen in 15 2H minutes is some kinda home cooking. Whatever just let him rest.

If the Warriors lose tonight, can we bring in Draymond to punch Brown in the balls a few times?

Feels like the same kind of let down after they took two in Boston.
They seemed to let up

Terrible defensive effort in this one. The 3rd quarter foul-a-thon changed the game. No rhythm and the horrible offensive sets did us in. I thought Brunson played poor in the 3rd and the rotations on D were awful.

Really thought we had this after a decent first half but they just wilted in that 3rd

It really is on KAT. His fouls were just dumb. If he stays focused, the Knicks play within themselves

Yeah tonight wasn’t an effort problem it was an intellectual problem. It will be pretty awesome finishing the series at MSG and I’m pretty sure the Conference Finals will then start on Wednesday so Knicks will still get 4 days off.

But so fucking stupid to be in this position tonight after being up 9 early in the 2nd quarter seemingly in control of this game.

It’s okay. The light always burns brightest before it goes out. The Celtics needed to give their garden fans this. They’re going down in NY

Compare the second half on Monday and the second half tonight. The ups and downs of this Knicks team are incomprehensible. Really something.

Someone please explain to me how they can consistently generate 500 open 3PAs per game using screens but we can’t get 1 for KAT.

OG getting shitted on all game by Jaylen Brown was not something I expected.

After this game we’ll be 7-3 in the playoffs despite having played well exactly once. It has been a strange ride.

Please…. someone defend the starters still being in this game?

Hart’s defense was embarrassing tonight. Constantly let White, Pritchard, and Brown get free for three

Benching Porzingis for 2H was a pretty big deal. He was our best player.

so fucking stupid to be in this position tonight after being up 9 early in the 2nd quarter seemingly in control of this game.

— The mental pressure of Expectation. We failed our test tonight. Second chance Friday.

I think this blog needs to reset to where we were before the series started –

– Fire Thibs!
– Trade KAT!
– Trade Bridges – he’s not even worth one draft pick!

Anyways, about that Superman commercial…

I thought I was done with superhero movies, but I’m sold on this

On the positive note, we were able to keep Kornet from getting a triple double.

Benching Porzingis for 2H was a pretty big deal. He was our best player.

If we pull this out, we should send a pick back to Dallas

Just sat down to catch the end of this one, but I think I’m on the wrong channel.

Please, this is 2013 Knicks/Celtics Game 5 all over again. They’ll get it done in six easily.

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That was humiliating. Not the loss, but the way they played in the second half. I never expected it. They couldn’t hit the side of the barn on offense, and couldn’t guard my grandma on defense.

They looked fine for two quarters but, hey, it’s the fucking 2025 Knicks! You never know which version will show up!

Brunson had his worst quarter in the 3rd. Bad floor game and awful on D. Bridges and OG non existent and KAT was too soft letting Kornet dominate the paint.

Well at least we know what they look like without Tatum. Make the adjustments and close it out at home

Please, this is 2013 Knicks/Celtics Game 5 all over again.

Who is the clubbing and chasing Rihanna JR Smith on this roster?

Please, this is 2013 Knicks/Celtics Game 5 all over again. They’ll get it done in six easily.

Yeah, we’ve seen the home team down 3-1 kick ass in game 5 then lose game 6 on the road a thousand times. This isn’t devastating just disappointing.

For all the crap he takes for being overpaid, Brown took up the challenge and played his ass off tonight.

Who is the clubbing and chasing Rihanna JR Smith on this roster?

The fact that there ISN’T one is why this team has a real shot at a title.

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Thibs should be fired for this game alone

It definitely took away whatever job armor his great work in game 4 gave him.

I have low hopes for the Warriors in this one, but they have like a week off before game 6 so hoping they can steal this one and get Steph back.

It’s the not the loss, just the reinforcement of the idea that this team is not serious. You can lose a game without consistently blowing defensive rotations, making dumb fouls, and having zero offensive game plan.

It’s official, East Finals start on Wednesday. There will be only 1 day off between every game during the entire series.

It’s the not the loss, just the reinforcement of the idea that this team is not serious.

This.

There’s only one other possibility for the Eastern Conference representative. It doesn’t matter if they’re “serious” or not, they’ll still be in great shape to get to the finals, and if it’s the Timberwolves or whatever, how could you even bet against them there?

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Right now OKC Knicks NBA Finals is still my expectation but it’s gonna be a rollercoaster ride to finally get there.

Win the next one and this one will be forgotten. I had hoped we had turned a bit of a corner and had found a new level but we are what we are. This was a very poor performance all around.

Win the next one and this one will be forgotten. I had hoped we had turned a bit of a corner and had found a new level but we are what we are. This was a very poor performance all around.

Oh yeah, don’t get me wrong, we should ABSOLUTELY shit on this performance. It just doesn’t mean a lot in the grander scheme of things.

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If we finish them off on Friday, we will still have four days of rest before Indiana which is good. First, we have to show up on Friday.

The Warriors without Curry are a lot worse than the Celtics without Tatum. (It’s a shame)

Even without Tatum, the Celts are dangerous. They are smart, battle-tested, and have enough talent left to beat anyone on any given night, especially when Brown goes off like he did tonight. They have become the team with a puncher’s chance…or maybe the opposite…a team that can win via a rope-a-dope strategy. We definitely got rope-a-doped tonight.

I know Brown has his flaws and is very overpaid, but he was pretty Tatum-esque tonight. If he plays like that for another two games, we’re in trouble. I also think Tatum being out is an opportunity for him and White, and to a degree, Prichard, Horford, and Jrue, to show what they can do, which they did tonight. Plus, Kornet gave then a big lift after KP wilted and Hauser did what he normally does to us.

If it weren’t for Josh Hart going 5-9 from 3 and Mitch going 6-6 from the line, we might have lost by 40.

Better step up and not let this slip away. I think our boys will respond well, just like we did vs. DET after blowing Game 5 at home.

Do we KNOW what’s wrong with KP? Is it actually Long COVID?

By Post Author

Do we KNOW what’s wrong with KP? Is it actually Long COVID?

I wish him quick recovery AFTER we finish Boston off!

Timberwolves vs OKC/Nuggets

Two small markets

But big name players

Interested to see how the ratings go

The Celtics have a lot of underutilized players. Their 4th and 5th options could easily be 3rd options on a contender and they have bench players that could easily start on a contender. Absent Tatum, guys just move up the pecking order and can handle the extra usage with little to no issue. You would think absent Tatum and with an extremely diminished KP, we’d see some cracks. Maybe we will in the next game. But there’s a reason they were the champion last year.

I’m happy to see Kerr, Draymond, Butler and the Warriors out, especially to Randle, DDV and Ant. My biggest bet was on OKC at +560, but as a fan I’d sacrifice the win to see a T-Wolves vs Knicks final. I’d also rather have a Knicks vs. Nuggets final than one against OKC. If the Knicks somehow blow this to Boston or lose to the Pacers, give me the cash with OKC.

The Celtics have a lot of underutilized players. Their 4th and 5th options could easily be 3rd options on a contender and they have bench players that could easily start on a contender. Absent Tatum, guys just move up the pecking order and can handle the extra usage with little to no issue. You would think absent Tatum and with an extremely diminished KP, we’d see some cracks. Maybe we will in the next game. But there’s a reason they were the champion last year.

They still have a roster that is going to get up threes, you can easily offset losing a star player that way.

They still have a roster that is going to get up threes, you can easily offset losing a star player that way.

Especially if we just peave Derrick White and his giant fucking forehead open all day

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