Pressure mounts on Knicks to win NBA playoffs first-round matchup
You ask, and you shall receive. The pressure is on. Now, it’s time to produce.
But did it have to be this way? After winning 51 games last NBA season, things were great in New York. The Knicks were back.
Fans trusted the process, and their prize was a team that finished third in the Eastern Conference. Following a tough series against the up-and-coming Detroit Pistons, the Knicks came through as underdogs against the Boston Celtics. What happened next, though, wasn’t great.
Beating the Celtics was the heavy lift. It almost seemed too easy to beat the Indiana Pacers and return to the NBA Finals. The problem, though, is that the Knicks were spent, and Tyrese Haliburton went nuts.
Injuries and exhaustion took hold, and New York was sent packing after six games. But sunglasses were needed, as man, the future was bright. MORE: NBA bends rule for Lakers’ Luka Doncic, Pistons’ Cade Cunningham The Coaching Change That Shifted Everything Nov 30, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown at Madison Square Garden.