First off, hey DJ…SPIN THAT TRACK!

Man that felt good! It really was the perfect night at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks shot the lights out, their big guns showed up, the Garden roared, the celebs went crazy, hell even PJ Tucker got in the game! The Knicks started this game fast, looking intent on finishing the defending champs off and they never let up. It was the kind of performance we have been looking for out of them, it was in short, their best performance of the playoffs.

Game five was disappointing, as the Knicks missed what felt like a golden chance, to end the series and get even more rest. But it went by the way side and that missed opportunity bred some panic in the streets. A bit too much for my liking but that’s a story for a different day. This team has responded well to losses and bad performances all postseason, and it was incumbent upon them to take control of their destiny Friday night at MSG. The final score of 119-81 acted as evidence of the control they took, and the adjustments they made from game five, which they spoke about at length postgame.

So what went into this epic beatdown? There were really a couple of key factors. Number one the Knicks got back to sharing the ball, breaking from the problematic stagnant offense we saw Wednesday night in Boston. Number two they got contributions from just about everyone (which we’ll get to in a moment). And finally, they got out and ran the floor in this game, keeping the tempo up against a Boston team that didn’t look up to the challenge physically Friday night.

When you look at the box score for game six, it’s pretty much how the Knicks would have drawn it up. For the second time this postseason, the Knicks had four players score at least 20 points, and the only starter who didn’t was Josh Hart, who had a triple double (10 points, 11 boards, 11 assists). Jalen Brunson was an efficient 8/14 for 23 points, while OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges had 23 and 22 points of their own on the wings. Perhaps the most impressive bounce back performance of the night was KAT. While he was a little too liberal with the three ball for my liking, Towns played an aggressive game, taking the ball hard to the hole, where the Celtics had no answer for him. It was the confident Karl MSG has become accustomed to when he’s going right this year.

The bench got to chip in as well, and while most of it came in garbage time, two players in particular played a big part. Mitchell Robinson wasn’t all over the box score like he was through five games of this series, but he caused all kinds of chaos in the second quarter, making key defensive plays that started the Knicks big run. Then there was Deuce McBride, one of my personal favorite players in the rotation, who made his presence felt throughout much of the night. He had two standout plays amongst his ten point outing, the first of which was an impressive chase down block on Derek White, which led to a Josh Hart and one at the other end.

Then to put a cherry on the half, Deuce drained a triple to send MSG into a frenzy.

All of these performances were a treat to watch, and only fuel the excitement for the next round against the Pacers. We’ll get to that nemesis the Knicks can’t ever seem to escape before game one of the series, but it’s not about them tonight. Tonight is about celebrating this series win, an unlikely one the Knicks earned, sending them to their first conference final since 2000. Yes Boston had big collapses in games 1 and 2. Yes Tatum’s injury altered the possibility of a Celtics comeback in the series. But it took the Knicks grinding their way through those comebacks on the road to take advantage of Boston’s mistakes. And while we absolutely wish Jason Tatum a full recovery, this series was on its way to being 3-1 Knicks with him in the lineup. For all the panic over losing game five and stats about Boston’s record without Tatum, we should trust this seemingly very self assured group a little more. After all people, Brunson waved goodbye to the Celtics and TD Garden as game five ended.

I’ve said it a lot this series, so what harm does once more do, I can’t believe we’ve come to this point. The Knicks have advanced to the conference final, having eliminated the defending champion Celtics in dramatic fashion, and sit eight wins from a title. In one sense it feels like so much has been accomplished, yet on another they are just getting started with so much work to do. We have been saying this is the best era for this franchise since the 90’s for the better part of three years, but it’s never felt more true than it does right now. The city is living and dying with this team, they have once captured the spirit of the metro area and have everyone dreaming big, and rightfully so! Enjoy the moment Knicks fans, and get ready for the Pacers, it’s time to bring the noise!

Stay tuned for continuing coverage of the Subway Series and a preview of the Knicks conference final matchup with Indiana! On twitter you can find Mike @Mike_Sheerin, Tyler @TMon_19 and Sean @SeanMartinNFL. Subscribe to the site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner and entering your email address. Check out our Instagram feed @thebroadwaybreakdownsports for special gameday and promotional content. Our podcasts are available on Spotify. Visit the Rangers Ed Shop by clicking the link on our homepage. Check out our mailbag page to join the conversation here on the site and on our partners show, The Rangers Ed Podcast! We’ll be back with more soon.