Well, the Boston Celtics’ season ended not with a bang, but with a 38-point whimper. The New York Knicks stomped into the Eastern Conference Finals, leaving the Celtics in the kind of emotional ruin you can only describe with a sad violin solo and a Joe Mazzulla shrug. Final score? 119-81. Yes, the Celtics lost by so much, you’d think the Knicks were playing a G-League team with one hand tied behind their backs.
But while the scoreboard was brutal, what happened behind the scenes might have been even more devastating. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst painted a grim little picture on his podcast: “We were walking out of the locker room and Al Horford went down the tunnel… that may have been it.” Now, Windy isn’t saying Al Horford is done for good, but the implication hit harder than a Karl-Anthony Towns elbow. You could almost hear the Titanic violinists queuing up in the background.
And then, Derrick White chimed in with the kind of statement that makes Celtics fans instinctively refresh Spotrac: “Yeah, I mean, we didn’t have the same team this year we had last year… It’s disappointing… every year it’s a different team.” Prepare yourselves. The band is breaking up. You might want to hang onto those 2024 title tees—they’re about to become vintage.
Apr 20, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Derrick White (9) reacts after a non call during the second half against the Orlando Magic at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images
Let’s rewind a little. The Celtics came into this postseason with expectations bigger than a Jaylen Brown contract. But after blowing a 20-point lead in Game 1, then repeating the same collapse in Game 2, Boston found itself spiraling faster than a crypto scam in 2022. Then Jayson Tatum ruptured his Achilles in Game 4, and just like that, the Celtics’ season had more plot twists than a Christopher Nolan movie.
Game 6, though? That was the sequel no one asked for. The Celtics’ defense was more absent than Marcus Smart’s hair dye, and their shooting? Let’s just say it fell off harder than Twitter’s user base post-Elon. Boston shot 36% from the field and 29% from deep 3, which, to be fair, are decent numbers… if you’re bowling.
Jaylen Brown, the last man standing from Boston’s All-Star trio, finished with 20 points on 8-of-20 shooting and seven turnovers. He fouled out in the third quarter, but don’t worry, the game had already left the chat. Meanwhile, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, Boston’s resident backcourt Avengers, combined to shoot 4-for-19. The Knicks were so unbothered that they probably started planning for Indiana during the second quarter.
Knicks ran wild while Celtics looked like NPCs
The Knicks, by contrast, looked like they just unlocked cheat codes. Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby dropped 23 points each, while Mikal Bridges casually lit it up with 22 on 60% shooting. Karl-Anthony Towns threw in 21 and had Celtics fans Googling “Is Al Horford still our starting big?”
Let’s not forget Josh Hart, who messed around and got a triple-double like it was a lazy Sunday. That 38-point margin? Largest in Knicks playoff history. That’s right—even bigger than Willis Reed’s comeback game.
And it’s not like the Celtics were close in any way. They lost every major category: points, rebounds (68-41!), assists, steals, blocks, free throws, three-pointers—you name it. Even Luke Kornet’s plus/minus, the most random stat in basketball, was the best among Boston starters at a brutal -16. The Knicks outscored Boston by 27 in the first half. Twenty-seven. That’s not a playoff lead—that’s a DMV wait time.
With Tatum now out for likely the entirety of next season and the Celtics staring down salary cap hell like it’s a Medusa head, nobody knows what’s next. Windhorst said it best: “They know they don’t know how it’s going to play. I don’t think anybody knows.”
May 12, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) is helped off the court by after an injury in the second half during game four of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Tatum would leave the game with an injury after this play. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
It’s not just about Horford, though he may ride into the sunset like a battle-hardened warrior. Jrue Holiday might be gone. Derrick White? His future’s uncertain too. The Celtics basically ran it back from last year’s championship squad and still got bounced by a team that hadn’t won a home playoff series since Y2K was a thing.
Even Jaylen Brown got poetic after the loss: “Losing to the Knicks feels like death. But I was always taught that there’s life after death.” Biggie would be proud. This Celtics core has done a lot since 2018—five conference finals, two Finals appearances, and a banner. But Friday night? That was the funeral for the current era. And with the Knicks now gearing up for Indiana like it’s 2000 again, the Celtics head into the offseason with more questions than a high school calculus test.
One thing’s for sure: Boston won’t look the same next year. Derrick White knows it. Jaylen Brown knows it. Al Horford probably knows it, and he’s got the tunnel walk to prove it.
As White said, “It went left pretty quick.” Yup. And now, it’s time for Celtic fans to buckle up. Let’s hope what’s next includes a working GPS, because talking of the path forward… It’s anything but straight.
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