Jalen Brunson was delighted to follow in the footsteps of his father Rick as the New York Knicks reached the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years.

Brunson joined OG Anunoby on 23 points, also adding six assists and six rebounds while making eight of 14 shots from the field, as the Knicks beat the Boston Celtics 119-81 on Friday.

That Game 6 victory sealed a 4-2 series triumph for the Knicks, who had been beaten 127-102 by last year's champions in Game 5 two days earlier.

The Knicks will now face the Indiana Pacers for a place in the NBA Finals, with Game 1 taking place at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.

Rick Brunson, now an assistant coach for the Knicks, was part of the last New York team to reach this stage of the postseason, when they lost 4-2 to the Pacers, who were subsequently beaten by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2000 NBA Finals.

Speaking after Friday's win, Jalen Brunson said: "This is great. The fact we haven't been here since my dad was on the team – he's not going to like that!

"But it means a lot to this organisation and this city.

"In Game 5, Boston got the best of us and we responded tonight. We just found a way to keep making plays on the defensive side, and the offense was just rolling."

YOUR KNICKS ARE EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS BOUND pic.twitter.com/cGILCziGWZ

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) May 17, 2025

The Knicks' 38-point margin of victory was their largest ever in a playoff game, with this the fourth series they have won since head coach Tom Thibodeau joined in 2020.

Asked if this was the Knicks' best postseason performance under him, Thibodeau said: "Probably. I thought from start to finish we were terrific.

"The Celtics are a terrific team on both sides of the ball. They play their style no matter what, and so they're not going to hand you anything. You have to earn it. I felt we did that.

"But we can't get carried away. Obviously it's a great win and we advance. But you also understand that you have to get ready for the next series. 

"We know that Indiana is a terrific team and we're going to have to be ready."

The Knicks also lost to Indiana in the Eastern Conference semifinals last year, and forward Mikal Bridges knows there is more work to do once the celebrations are over.

"I just think there's still more to go. We're not done," Bridges said. "We played hard and handled business, but the season's not over yet."