It’s New York versus Boston with everything on the line.
Two of the NBA’s premier franchises have been going to battle with one another in the second round of the playoffs with the Knicks up 3-2 on the Celtics.
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It is the 16th time the Knicks and Celtics are colliding in the postseason.
But inexplicably only for the third time since 1990.
Boston has won eight of the previous 15 playoff series against New York, most notably during dominant runs in the 1960s and ’80s.
They are also 4-0 against the Knicks this season with an average margin of 16 points.
However, the Knicks are looking to close out the series Friday evening at Madison Square Garden.
Arguably the biggest game for the Knicks in the last 25 years.
It is the first time the two franchises are facing one another in the second round of the playoffs since 1984, which remains one of the best playoff series in the storied history of the rivalry.
And a lot of that is credit to Larry Legend.
Larry Bird had one of the best performances of his career in that series against the Knicks, out-dueling Bernard King on the other side.
Bird averaged 30.4 points and 10.6 rebounds, while King averaged 29.1 points.
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The Boston legend saved his best for last in Game 7 of the series in front of the home crowd.
Bird led the Celtics to a 121-104 victory, putting up a triple-double, with 39 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
Bird and the Celtics would go on to defeat Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers in an instant Finals classic, in seven games.
It was Bird’s second title in four years.
The irony in the Boston-New York rivalry is that once upon a time, Bird had actually wanted the Knicks to draft him out of college.
While accepting the award for the College Player of the Year at a ceremony in New York City, Bird flat out said where he would like to go, saying he would love to play for either the Knicks or the Nets.
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The reason?
“Because of the media, and television,” Bird said at the time, as per The New York Times.
“There’s more people. I think I belong in New York.”
Coming out of Indiana State in 1978, Bird was viewed as one of the top prospects in the draft.
The Knicks had traded for the fourth overall pick the day before the draft, while the Celtics had the sixth pick.
New York would pass on Bird and draft Micheal Ray Richardson at four.
Meanwhile Boston happily took Bird with pick No. 6.
And the rest was history.
Now a new chapter of the rivalry unfolds, as a Jayson Tatum-less Celtics squad tries to extend its title defense with a win tonight, while Jalen Brunson and the gritty Knicks look to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000.
