The New York Knicks utterly dominated the Boston Celtics on Friday night, sealing the series with a 119–81 victory in Game 6 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years.
The Knicks will face a familiar foe: the Indiana Pacers, with Game 1 set for Wednesday at Madison Square Garden. We’ve got the full series schedule and preview below.
As for the Western Conference, it still has one unfinished semifinal series.
All eyes will be on Sunday’s win-or-go-home showdown between the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder to decide who faces the Minnesota Timberwolves in the West.
But first, here’s the updated playoffs bracket.
Updated 2025 NBA Playoffs Bracket
With the Knicks’ blowout win, the Eastern Conference Finals are now locked in, where they’ll face the Pacers. The Knicks and Pacers pulled off major upsets, knocking out the Eastern Conference’s top two seeds.
The Thunder are the NBA’s lone top-two seed standing in the playoffs. Injuries did play a role in the fall of the Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers. But the seedings don’t reflect late-season surges by the Pacers, Timberwolves, and even the Golden State Warriors, who lost to Minnesota in the semifinals after Stephen Curry’s hamstring injury.
Momentum is key in these high-stakes May matchups. The Knicks, who could not muster a win against the NBA’s top teams in the regular season, found their way in the playoffs, when it matters the most.
Here’s a look at the updated 2025 NBA Playoffs bracket:
Friday, May 16 – Game Recap
New York Knicks 119, Boston Celtics 81
Knicks win series 4–2
The Knicks’ Game 5 loss to the Jayson Tatum-less Celtics suggested that Game 6 was going to be a close battle. But New York flipped the script, with excellent ball movement and tight defense from the very start.
Boston kept pace in the first quarter, then the Knicks accelerated away in the second, closing the half with a 64-37 lead and extending their advantage to as much as 41 points in the third quarter. The 38-point win is the largest margin of victory in Knicks playoff history.
Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby led the way with 23 points each. They were one of four Knicks players who scored 20 points or higher. Josh Hart showed flashes of his 2024 dynamism, recording a triple-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists — the first by a Knick in the playoffs since 1972.
Boston struggled without Jayson Tatum, shooting just 36% from the field and 30% from deep.
Jaylen Brown scored 20 points, fouling out late in the third. And that signalled that the Celtics’ season would be coming to an end. After Brown’s exit, head coach Joe Mazzulla emptied the bench, waving the white flag.
Eastern Conference Finals Preview
New York Knicks vs. Indiana Pacers
Game 1: Wednesday, May 21 – Madison Square Garden
The Knicks and Pacers will meet in a classic postseason rivalry renewed. New York’s size, rebounding, and defensive identity will be tested against Indiana’s uptempo offense and deep scoring rotation.
Brunson is averaging 28.8 points per game this postseason, with his scoring declining in the second round due to both reduced efficiency and more burden sharing.
That’s ultimately a positive for the Knicks, who’ll need Brunson to lead the offense and step up in clutch moments. But while he single-handedly led New York through the first round, it’s depth that helped them beat Boston and will determine how deep their playoff run is.
Expect a physical, high-paced, and high-scoring series that could go the distance.
The Knicks owned the season series, 2 games to 1, averaging 124 points over the three games. But the Pacers are averaging the second-highest points in these playoffs, with 117.7 per game. New York’s perimeter defense, along with Mitchell Robinson, could make the difference.
Series Prediction: Knicks in seven.
Eastern Conference Finals Schedule
Game 1: Wednesday, May 21, 2025, 8:00 PM Eastern — Indiana Pacers at New York Knicks | Madison Square Garden, New York, NY | TICKETS
Game 2: Friday, May 23, 2025, 8:00 PM Eastern — Indiana Pacers at New York Knicks | Madison Square Garden, New York, NY | TICKETS
Game 3: Sunday, May 25, 2025, 8:00 PM Eastern — New York Knicks at Indiana Pacers | Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN | TICKETS
Game 4: Tuesday, May 27, 2025, 8:00 PM Eastern — New York Knicks at Indiana Pacers | Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN | TICKETS
Game 5 (if necessary): Thursday, May 29, 2025, 8:00 PM Eastern — Indiana Pacers at New York Knicks | Madison Square Garden, New York, NY | TICKETS
Game 6 (if necessary): Saturday, May 31, 2025, 8:00 PM Eastern — New York Knicks at Indiana Pacers | Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN | TICKETS
Game 7 (if necessary): Monday, June 2, 2025, 8:00 PM Eastern — Indiana Pacers at New York Knicks | Madison Square Garden, New York, NY | TICKETS
Sunday, May 18 – Game 7 Preview
Oklahoma City Thunder at Denver Nuggets
Series tied 3–3
Everything comes down to Game 7 in Denver. The defending champion Nuggets, pushed to the brink, will lean on Nikola Jokić to get them back to the Western Conference Finals.
Jokić has been superb all series, but he needs support — and he got plenty of that in Game 6, with the ailing Jamal Murray scoring 25, and Christian Braun posting 23.
The Thunder, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, have both their playoff hopes and reputation on the line. They’re trying to prove their historic regular season wasn’t a fluke. But they’ll need to recover from a shaky Game 6 showing and leverage their home crowd support.
Sunday’s game will come down to execution, depth, and whether Oklahoma City’s young core can rise to the moment in their biggest test yet.
Series Prediction: Thunder in seven.
Date and Time: Sunday, May 18, 2025, 3:30 PM Eastern
Venue: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
TV: ABC
Streaming: ABC and ESPN apps, Hulu + Live TV, Sling, YouTube TV
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