NYC NOW - Knicks Survive Pistons, Advance to Face Celtics in NBA Semifinals

Episode Date: May 3, 2025

The New York Knicks are headed to the second round of the NBA playoffs after beating the Detroit Pistons 118-115 in Game 6 on Thursday. The win wasn’t pretty and required a last-second buzzer-beater from Jalen Brunson to seal the victory. Next, the Knicks face the defending champion Boston Celtics. WNYC’s Janae Pierre speaks with Newsday Knicks beat reporter Steve Popper about what the win says about the team and how they match up with the Celtics.

NYC now. Welcome to NYC now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. I'm Jenei Pierre. Happy Saturday. The New York Knicks are still alive. They made it out of the first round of the NBA playoffs, beating the Detroit Pistons 1-18 to 115 in game 6 Thursday night. Jalen Brunson hit a deep three with mere seconds left to win it. That was a way for him. him to bounce back after a rough game five. He finished game six Thursday with 40 points. But the win didn't erase everything. The Knicks blew a double-digit lead in the second half,

got very little from the bench again, and they needed a last second shot to survive. Next up, a second round matchup against the defending champions, the Boston Celtics. Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday, and he joins me now. Hey, Steve. Hi, how are you? doing pretty good you know the nix made it and it was a rough one a win is a win right look it's either

going to wear them out for boston or be a great test that helps them advance and be ready for that because jalen brunson said it after the game they really brought the fight to the nix and they had to respond and try and answer back every one of these games was closed down to the wire controversial plays at the end and some heroic performances by brunson which we've come to expect here He definitely pulled it off of the Knicks. What stood out to you in the way that they closed this series against the Pistons? I think some resilience. The Knicks haven't played their best, but they managed to fall behind by seven points very late in the game.

And they didn't kind of give into that in that atmosphere, which was really raucous. They fought back. They just kind of kept their calm. And I think coming into the series, the one thing we knew was the Knicks were a more experienced playoff team than Detroit, which won 14 games last season and hadn't won a playoff game since 2008 at home. So the Knicks sort of kept their composure there at the end, which I think is what made the difference there. Detroit, you know, just some turnover, some bad mistakes in the final minutes. And Jalen Brunson just did what he does all the time.

Came up with improbable shots that will be stories that some of these fans will tell to their kids someday. So you mentioned that double-digit lead that the Knicks blue, they really struggled to hold leads throughout this matchup. What kind of concern is that raise heading into Boston? Well, I think as Tom Tibido, the Knicks coach would say, everything is a concern for them. And when you're facing a team like Boston, the defending champs, so deep, so talented, you just have to be really on your game perfectly. And I think what you saw from the Knicks against Detroit will not work against a team like Boston. What Tivode asked for is 48 minutes and they haven't had that once in this series.

There were just these lapses. So I think for them, it's just got to be a focus and attention to detail that starts at the opening tip and just can't end until the final buzzer. I know one thing that's most frustrating is that the bench gave them almost nothing. Can they keep winning like this? If Jalen Brunson keeps scoring 40, they can. But look, I think it's got to be a team effort. And even though the scoring wasn't there from other guys,

there were contributions, I think, that shouldn't go unnoticed. O.G. Ananobe just had a tremendous series defensively. McKell Bridges came up big in game six on Thursday. And I guess in this time of the year, you know, everybody's playing their starters the most. Boston has a very deep team, but I don't think they'll go to it as much as they do in the regular season. You'd like to get a little bit more than the Nick Scott,

but it's going to be a seven-man rotation. I think every game you're going to see starters playing 40 minutes to match up with Boston's talent. Steve, I recall our conversation just at the beginning of this new season. We talked about how the front office went all in. They gave up five first round picks to get McKell Bridges. They did that two-for-one trade to land Carl Anthony Towns. They're deep into the salary cap with little room to make changes right now. Is this roster built to contend right now, or I'm wondering, are there cracks already showing?

Well, I think there's a couple of things here. We've seen some flaws, but it is the first year of a process that when they put this together, these guys are all sort of the same age, sort of on the same contract timeline. And I think in year one, you don't sort of expect the championship. But as you said, you know, we talked about it's all in, you know, with the roster. I just think there's a little bit of a window here with this team that, you know, there was still some adjustments. They were never healthy completely until the end of the season. And as much as we talk about Jalen Brunson's sprained ankle that was bothering him in the series, he did play 42 minutes in game six. He's going to be on the court for 42 minutes.

I would imagine every game he can drag himself out there against Boston. This matchup is really what this team was put together for. McElbridge is, as much as it calls it. cost them, his defensive ability, Ananoi's defensive ability, are what you need to try and match up with the talented wings that Boston has, Jason Tatum and Jalen

Brown. I think if the Knicks can not get blown out in this series and show some potential, then it's year one of maybe what's a, you know, about a four-year window. But if they get blown out again, as they did in the regular season against Boston, I think everything's

on the table. You might reconsider things. We've seen coaches, one champion, getting let go during the season. The front office, this is what they get paid the big bucks for us to make the decision is, you know, is the potential there to make this happen as we go on? Or is this going to be something that you realize right away is not the fit that you thought it was? Yeah. I want to talk about this matchup again.

We don't have a game seven so the Knicks can use this weekend to reset, go through all the tape, of course. I want to talk about how they stack up against Boston and what has to shift for them to have, you know, a real shot and not get blown out, as you stated? Well, I think on paper, they match up well in that starting five, which is where, again, the focus is in the postseason. It's much less of a depth contest, which the Knicks don't have compared to Boston. They're made to match up with them, and I think they do on paper, but they have not matched up well in reality throughout the season.

They lost all four games to them. Three of them were blowouts. It's going to be a test. You know, everything changes in the playoffs, the intensity, the focus, the intention to detail. We'll know probably on Monday night about an hour into the game if this is a reflection of what we saw on the regular season or if what they put together on paper to match up with them works. There's just so much talent on Boston that you can't focus on one person. As the Knicks have relied on Jalen Brunson so much, it's just you can go up and down the roster.

There's so many talented players on that team. So in a perfect world, can the Knicks beat them? Yes. Is it often a perfect world? Not usually. Steve, do you have a prediction for us? I think the Knicks are going to give them a fight. They're going to get some games at home.

But I think Boston overall is too much. I would probably say Boston and six. Boston and six. All right. That's Steve Popper for Newsday. He covers the Knicks. Steve, thanks so much for your time. The Knicks and Celtics matchup begins May 5th, that's Cinco de Mayo, in Boston.

Steve, thanks a lot. Anytime. Thanks for having me. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WNYC. I'm Jene Pierre. Have a wonderful weekend.