Knicks know they have to step it up if they want to flip script on Celtics

The Knicks aren’t hiding from the reality that they are in for a very different and even more daunting challenge in the second round of the playoffs than the six-game battle they just gutted out and survived against Detroit. “They are the defending [NBA] champs for a reason,” Karl-Anthony Towns said after practice Saturday about the Celtics. Indeed, Boston mostly dominated the season series between the teams, taking the first three games by a combined 63 points before pulling out an overtime victory in April to complete a thorough four-game sweep. Those records, of course, are wiped clean once a playoff series commences, with this one set to tip off Monday night at TD Garden, where the Knicks’ season began with a blowout loss in which the Celtics matched an NBA record with 29 made 3-pointers after a pregame ceremony to receive their rings and raise their 2024 championship banner. With both teams playing their full complement of rotation players on April 8 at the Garden, the Knicks held a late three-point lead but failed to foul and allowed Jayson Tatum to tie the score with three seconds left in the fourth quarter before the Celtics prevailed in OT. “Obviously, [we have to] play better than we did [against them] throughout the regular season,” Jalen Brunson said.“Be better, ready to do it from the jump, knowing it’s going to be a game of runs, knowing that they’re capable of doing a lot of great things. “I feel like we played better in that [fourth] game.

We adjusted from the first three times we played them, obviously still not getting it done, but definitely played better and competed better than the first three games.So that’s something we can look at and build off of.” Brunson, who already has a Nike billboard hanging outside MSG depicting his series-clinching 3-pointer in Game 6 on Thursday night against the Pistons, said the Knicks used Friday’s day off “to decompress, rest and get your mind ready for the next challenge.”...