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Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics looks on during the second half against the Oklahoma City Thunder at TD Garden on March 25, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts.
All-Star wing Jaylen Brown has made it clear that he is ready to exact revenge on the New York Knicks after his Boston Celtics lost to their Eastern Conference rivals in the second round of last year’s playoffs.
With the second-seeded Celtics and third-seeded Knicks on a potential collision course again in the playoff semifinals, Brown is looking forward to the rematch.
“It felt like death,” Brown said on his Twitch stream of losing to the Knicks in last year’s playoffs. “The Knicks, good team. But to blow two 20-point leads, like how does that happen?” Brown pondered. “The energy was off, and we lost, but shout out to the Knicks. They won. They moved on. We lost. We did it to ourselves. Can’t be mad at it.
“But this story’s a different year,” Brown added. “We might match up with the Knicks again, and we’ve got to be ready to slide. We’ve got our young killers right here. Sometimes, you’ve got to spin the block. You’ve got to run it back.”
Knicks Fans React
As Brown alluded to, the Knicks became the only team in the play-by-play era to record two 20-point comebacks in the same playoffs when they beat the C’s in Game 1 and Game 2 of last year’s Eastern Conference semifinals. The Knicks went on to win the series in Game 6, securing their first conference finals appearance in 25 years.
Many Knicks fans took issue with Brown’s comments, even though the Celtics star praised Jalen Brunson and the team for pulling off an upset last year.
“Yall was chucking them threes. Thats how,” wrote on user on X, explaining to Brown that his Celtics lost the series because of their trigger-happy ways.
Celtics vs Knicks Playoffs Chances
Another Knicks fan thought that Brown was overemphasizing the first two losses, while ignoring the fact that New York also won Game 3 and Game 6.
“They had 4 more chances to win after those first two games, and didnt.,” wrote the fan on X. “The Knicks are just better, it’s like that sometimes.”
“He’s haunted by the Knicks😂,” wrote one fan, mocking Brown.
One fan guaranteed that the Knicks would beat the Celtics again.
“Hey buddy yall gone lose again if we play yall this post season. Bookmark this tweet!!!”
One fan felt that beating the Celtics was equivalent to winning a title for the Knicks.
“Celtics only hate losing to the Knicks in the playoffs cause yall never win a title after and have parades for beating celtics,” wrote the Celtics fan, mocking the Knicks.
“Knicks live rent free in this guys head,” wrote another Knicks fan.
The Celtics (53-25) and Knicks (51-28) will renew their rivalry Thursday night in a Prime Video blockbuster clash. In the meantime, the C’s will face the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday, while the Knicks rest at home coming off a three-game winning streak.
Sai Mohan covers the NBA for Heavy.com. Based in Portugal, Sai is a seasoned sports writer with nearly two decades of publishing experience, including bylines at Yardbarker, FanSided’s Hoops Habit, International Business Times, Hindustan Times and more. More about Sai Mohan
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