Garden Party: Celtics-Knicks is official

Boston Globe

02-05-2025

It just always seemed right, didn't it?
The Knicks narrowly held off the Pistons in Game 6 on Thursday, with newly crowned Clutch Player of the Year
That big shot made official a 16th playoff meeting between the Celtics and Knicks, two original NBA franchises whose rivalry features 498 regular-season meetings, the most between any two teams in the league.
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Recently, it hasn't been much of a rivalry. Boston has owned New York the last two seasons, winning eight of nine matchups. That includes blowout wins of 23 and 27 points this year as the Celtics hunted the Knicks' defensive weak links in Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.
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But anything can happen in a seven-game series. New York has been looking forward to this matchup all year, with Knicks fans just last night chanting
About last night and what's on deck
New York, New York ...
Jalen Brunson (right) buried the Pistons with the biggest shot of the playoffs yet.
Duane Burleson/Associated Press
A recap of Thursday's playoff action:
🏀 Jalen Brunson's 40-point masterpiece — and brilliant game-winner —
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🏀 Kawhi Leonard and James Harden combined for 55 points to lead the Clippers over the Nuggets and force the NBA postseason's first Game 7, set for Saturday in Denver (7:30 p.m., TNT).
🏀 The Warriors host the Rockets in Game 6 (9 p.m., ESPN) with a chance to eliminate Houston and close out the feistiest series of the playoffs thus far.
🏒 Three series came to an end in Game 6 last night. The Oilers took care of the Kings, with ex-Bruin Trent Frederic credited with the game-winner.
🏒 Two series still need deciding: The Jets lead the Blues, 3-2, entering Friday's Game 6 in St. Louis (8 p.m., TNT); and the Stars and Avalanche play Game 7 in Dallas on Saturday (8 p.m., ABC).
🗓️ Up next:
We're still waiting on times and TV info for the Celtics-Knicks series.
In the know
Grab a spoon!
JP Licks released a Celtics-themed ice cream flavor ahead of the 2025 NBA Playoffs.
Emma Healy
The Globe's Emma Healy recently sat down with Jonathan Vega, a man who has every child's dream job: creating and testing ice cream flavors.
Around the time it became clear Boston was going to win it all last year, Vega, a lifelong Bostonian and Celtics fan and the assistant production manager at local ice cream chain J.P. Licks, was struck with the idea to create a commemorative ice cream flavor in the team's honor.
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After a year of development and testing, the 'Celtics Pride' flavor launched at the end of March. It features a golden salted caramel ice cream base with Celtics-green ribbon of marshmallow, and it will be available at J.P. Licks locations across Massachusetts throughout the Celtics' playoff run.
Here's what Vega had to say about the new flavor. Responses have been edited lightly for brevity and clarity.
EH: What inspired the color and flavor choices in the Celtics flavor?
JV
: The gold color was inspired by the championship trophy. That particular gold took me about two months to perfect. I wanted to do green because of the team, but I also wanted it to be a more subtle sweet flavor because I wanted all ages to enjoy it. I chose to go with salted caramel because when the Celtics won, I imagined that all of Boston's haters must be pretty salty about it, so it needs to be sweet on our end, and it needs to be salty for everyone else that trashed the team and said we couldn't do it.
EH: Is this going to be a staple at J.P. Licks going forward?
JV
: It'll be in the books forever. We'll run it as customers demand. We ran it this year, and we hope that the Celtics will be a great team for many years to come so we can keep running the flavor. Maybe we'll keep expanding on it, making flavors for players or altering it with each new championship. I always reach for the stars when I do things that I'm passionate about, and the team is one of them and the city is one of them.
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Emma's review:
I'd give it a 9.5 out of 10. Not too sweet, not too heavy. But beware: You may end up with a green tongue afterward.
Heading out to grab a cone? If you try this flavor, let us know what you think at
.
For the group chat
The Joe Mazzulla Quote of the Week
Joe Mazzulla really does just say things, sometimes.
Barry Chin/Globe Staff
Over at
(It's
named
after Joe Mazzulla, but he doesn't win it every week. Just, like, half the time, depending on what sort of mood he's in.)
It does feel only right, however, to hand Garden Party's first Joe Mazzulla Quote of the Week to the man himself. As everybody else within 100-mile radius of TD Garden got progressively more upset with the Magic's approach in the first-round, it was just so typical of Mazzulla to relish in the physicality.
'No one's been arrested, so,'
See a quote that deserves this honor? Submit your favorite remarks to us at
.
Go deeper
Three stories you shouldn't miss
Kristaps Porzingis and the Celtics towered over the Knicks this season, winning four of four regular-season meetings.
Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff
✍️ Shaughnessy's take:
Order has been restored in Basketball America, Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy writes,
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👌 37 straight:
The Magic's plan against the Celtics was to get physical. Boston made them pay at the free-throw line — especially Jayson Tatum, who made 37 straight foul shots in the series.
🤝 Jrue Holiday, certified Good Guy:
On Thursday,
Amin Touri can be reached at