The Boston Celtics have shown not once, but twice now that they are still the superior team compared to the New York Knicks. Boston defeated New York for the second time this season on February 23rd, 2025, by a final score of 118-105. The Celtics also defeated them on opening night of the regular season by a whopping 23 points. The final score of that outcome was 132-109. Josh Hart of the Knicks recently gave the defending champions praise after the loss on February 23rd.
“We’re not trying to close a gap with the Boston Celtics. They’re the champs for a reason,” Hart said after tallying a near triple double in his return from injury. “They’ve got All-NBA guys. They’ve got All-Stars. Heck of a team. We’re not trying to close a gap on them; we’re trying to make sure we get ourselves where we need to be at the end of the year. Right now, we’re not there.”
“It’s tough. They’ve got three level scorers at every single position. They’ve got the length defensively to make us take tough shots offensively,” Hart said after his team went down 38-19 early. “In the first quarter, they had about three layups and the Sam Hauser three in transition and that really killed us and that was from our bad offense.”
While the Cleveland Cavaliers may be the first seed in the Eastern Conference, one cannot overlook the defending champions. Boston has won 10 of their last 11 matchups after a bit of a slump earlier in the year. They currently have a win-loss record of 42-16, good enough for second in the Eastern Conference.
Josh Hart Gives Credit to Defending Champion, Boston Celtics
New York Knicks Looking to Make a Statement This Season
The new-look Knicks are hoping to make a case as part of the elite echelon of the Eastern Conference. When they traded for Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns this offseason, it was clear they were going all in for a title. So far, most of the results have been positive. They currently have a win-loss record of 37-20 which is good enough for third in the East. Behind the stellar play of All-Star guard Jalen Brunson, and other key players like Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns, the New York Knicks are a dark-horse candidate to win the Eastern Conference. However, the road to the NBA Finals still goes through Boston for a reason. A team the Knicks have yet to figure out this season.
