Knicks Can Clinch Rare Playoff Feat in Game 5

It has been a long time since the New York Knicks secured playoff advancement in front of a home crowd.

Feb 1, 2025; New York, New York, USA; General view of Madison Square Garden before the start of a game between the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

There's no place like home, but New York Knicks playoff clinchings wouldn't know about it. That, however, could change on Tuesday night if they handle business against the Detroit Pistons.

The Knicks' recent run of prosperity has ended some dubious streaks but they still have business to handle. In their ongoing Eastern Conference quarterfinal bout with the Detroit, for example, the Knicks hold a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven set.

Should New York seal the deal in Game 5 on Tuesday night (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG/TNT), it'll end a long wait for the Manhattan basketball fans: the Knicks have not secured advancement in familiar territory in over 25 years, last doing so in 1999.

Together with defending champions Denver and Boston, New York is one of three teams to win at least one playoff series in each of the last two seasons. In each case, however, the necessary victory to move forward on the bracket was earned on the road.

Last season's six-game first-round victory over Philadelphia was secured at Wells Fargo Center, one year after the Knicks prevailed in the same round against Cleveland at Rocket Arena (then known as Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse). The Knicks have had a few advancements in the interim (two in 2000, one in 2013) but, again, secured the last necessary win in hostile territory.

Despite the drought, Knicks may appreciate the serendipitous potential the wait has provided: the last time New York won a fourth game at MSG, they advanced to the NBA Finals, as it was a win over the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern finale that pushed them into their most recent visit into basketball's promised land.

If the Knicks fall on Tuesday, the series will return to Little Caesars Arena on Thursday night with a potential winner-take-all seventh slated for Saturday in Manhattan.

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