Knicks beat Celtics 119-81 in Game 6 and advance to face Pacers in Eastern Conference finals

NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks viewed reaching the Eastern Conference finals as just another step in a season that's not over. It's not time to celebrate.

Try telling that to the thousands of fans dancing and chanting inside and on the streets all around Madison Square Garden.

The Knicks reached the conference finals for the first time in 25 years and ended the one-year NBA title reign of the Boston Celtics with astonishing ease, rolling to a 119-81 victory in Game 6 on Friday night.

On the way to their postgame press conference, Josh Hart showed Mikal Bridges a video of a fan climbing a light pole outside the arena.

"I’m new here but just know how much New York loves their sports, especially the Knicks," Bridges said. “So, excited to be a part of it. They enjoy it for us right now but obviously we got way more to go.”

Brunson and OG Anunoby each scored 23 points for the Knicks, who will face the Indiana Pacers, the same team they met in their last conference finals appearance in 2000. Game 1 is Wednesday night in New York.

“It’s a great win. We advance .You look at that, but you also understand you have to get ready for the next series," Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “The Pacers are a terrific team and we’re going to have to be ready.”

The Knicks hadn’t won a playoff series on their home floor since the 1999 East finals. So the celebrating started late in the one-sided first half and was sure to carry on deep into the night around the arena.

Bridges scored 22 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 for the Knicks, whose 38-point margin of victory was their largest in a postseason game.

Jaylen Brown scored 20 points for the Celtics, who lost leading scorer Jayson Tatum to a ruptured Achilles tendon in Game 4 but believed they still had enough to get it back to Boston for Game 7 and keep their title defense alive.

It was quickly clear that wasn’t happening. Boston coach Joe Mazzulla began pulling his starters in the third quarter after the deficit reached 41 points.

“We didn’t have the same team this year that we had last year," Celtics guard Derrick White said. "Every year it’s a different team. We had a goal at the beginning of the year and we fell short.”

New York blew it open with a 13-3 run that made it 49-27, a surge highlighted by 6-foot-1 guard Deuce McBride’s chasedown block of White’s shot that led to Hart’s second straight basket while being fouled.

Ben Stiller and Lenny Kravitz shared a handshake and hug afterward along celebrity row, where the A-listers were standing and cheering much of the night, the same as the fans sitting near the top of the arena.

The Knicks led 64-37 at halftime, a 27-point lead that matched their biggest in a playoff game in the shot-clock era. They led the Lakers 69-42 in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals, when Willis Reed’s return from injury sparked the Knicks to their first NBA title.

Hart finished with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Boston Celtics' Payton Pritchard (11) drives past New York Knicks' OG Anunoby (8) during the second half of Game 6 in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs Friday, May 16, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns (32) drives to the basket during the first half of Game 6 in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs against the Boston Celtics Friday, May 16, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Boston Celtics' Jaylen Brown (7) fights for control of the ball with New York Knicks' Josh Hart (3) during the first half of Game 6 in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs Friday, May 16, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York Knicks' Jalen Brunson, left, drives past Boston Celtics' Jaylen Brown (7) during the second half of Game 6 in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs Friday, May 16, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York Knicks' Jalen Brunson (11) gestures to fans during the second half of Game 6 in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the NBA basketball playoffs against the Boston Celtics Friday, May 16, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — World Cup host Vancouver is at risk of losing its Major League Soccer club to another city.

MLS said late Monday it “will evaluate all options” for the future of the Vancouver Whitecaps, including moving out of the city. The club was put on sale 16 months ago by an ownership group that includes former NBA star Steve Nash.

Uncertainty around the team is fueled by limited revenue options and a short-term lease at BC Place stadium that will host seven World Cup games in June and July, including Canada playing Qatar and Switzerland.

“It’s reaching a critical point,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said Tuesday during a meeting with the Associated Press Sports Editors in New York.

Garber called the situation at BC Place untenable, citing strict schedule restrictions from the government entity that owns and operates the building and an inability to add premium seating.

British Columbia’s government said Tuesday it is working with the Whitecaps to help the team lower costs and generate more revenue at BC Place — but it won’t be buying the team to prevent it from moving cities.

Ravi Kahlon, B.C.’s minister of jobs and economic growth, said the team is now using the stadium at no cost, and any breaks that the team received this year could be extended for another year.

The Whitecaps and the provincial government — which owns BC Place through the provincial Crown corporation PavCo — signed a one-year lease earlier this year, which annually returns to the club about $1 million to 1.5 million that the province makes from hosting.

Kahlon, a longtime season-ticket holder, says the province has also helped the team generate more revenue from concession sales and advertising, adding that the province is open to exploring other revenue sources.

“If there are some genuine things that they need done to keep the team here, we want to see that happen,” he said.

Garber confirmed reports that Las Vegas could be an option if Vancouver relocates, saying a group from Las Vegas had submitted an application for an MLS team. He expressed hope the Whitecaps could find a way to remain in Vancouver and said expansion to Las Vegas could also be a possibility, but no decisions had been made. Las Vegas was not necessarily the only city being discussed.

FIFA vice president Victor Montagliani, who is from Vancouver, said last year losing an MLS club “on the back of the World Cup would be a capital crime, in my opinion.”

Fans holding “Save The Caps” placards protested on Saturday at the team’s last home game ahead of the stadium being taken over for the World Cup. The attendance was more than 27,000.

In a statement late Monday, the Whitecaps said it had “serious conversations with more than 100 parties and, to date, no viable offer has emerged that would keep the club here.”

“The club has faced well-documented structural challenges around stadium economics, venue access, and revenue limitations that have made it difficult to attract buyers committed to keeping the team in Vancouver."

A franchise fee that cost tens of millions of dollars to enter MLS 15 years ago is now likely worth hundreds of millions.

A team that features German great Thomas Müller reached the MLS Cup final last year, losing against Lionel Messi and Inter Miami 3-1.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Vancouver Whitecaps fans hold signs before an MLS soccer match against the Colorado Rapids in Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vancouver Whitecaps' Cheikh Sabaly (7) celebrates after his goal against the Colorado Rapids with Thomas Muller (13) and Tate Johnson (28) during the first half of an MLS soccer match in Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vancouver Whitecaps fans hold signs before an MLS soccer match against the Colorado Rapids in Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)