ESPN analyst faces excruciatingly awkward moment as Knicks fans bombard him after Celtics’ ousting

The New York Knicks punched their ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals on Friday night with a 119-81 win over the Boston Celtics at home in Game 6. It is the first time since 2000 that the Knicks have been to a Conference Finals, and the city reveled in their win. One fan even caught up with ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, calling him out for what he said about the Celtics’ chances.

Windhorst has been covering the NBA for decades and is one of ESPN’s NBA Insiders. The reporter went on First Take Friday morning to share his thoughts on the series before Game 6. He said that while he expected New York to win, he didn’t think that Boston coming back in the series was out of the question.

A statement like that didn’t go over well with the Knicks faithful, and the team took care of business, eliminating the defending champions and setting up a playoff rematch from 2024 in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Indiana Pacers blew out the Knicks in Game 7 of their second round series in Madison Square Garden behind an all-time shooting performance.

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New York fans are only worried about the present, though. The fan that ran into Windhorst asked him what he thought about Boston going home. Before the reporter could get out a sentence, the fan interrupted him with his excitement after the win.

"How do you feel about Boston losing?" asked the fan.

"I said-," started Windhorst.

"I don't give a f***!" the fan interrupted. "Knicks in six, p*****!"

The Knicks won Game 6 behind a balanced effort from their starting lineup. Each one of them scored over 20 points except Josh Hart, with OG Anunoby and Jalen Brunson leading the way with 23. Boston was without Jayson Tatum, who tore his ACL in Game 4, but were unable to put up a fight after trailing by 27 points at halftime.

What do Windhorst and other experts think about the Knicks' chances at the title?

Now that New York knocked off the defending NBA champions, they are the highest remaining seed in the Eastern Conference. They will have home court advantage in their series against the Pacers, which begins on Wednesday, May 21. Windhorst, Stephen A. Smith, and other reporters believed that if the Knicks beat the Celtics, they should be favored to make it to the NBA Finals.

However, their work is not done yet. Indiana has been the most dominant team in this year's postseason along with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Both teams took care of their first two series in five games apiece. The Pacers are also well rested; they haven't played a game since May 13. Having a week's worth of rest is a big advantage in the postseason.

New York will likely be favored in the series, but if they do find their way to the NBA Finals, an even tougher test awaits. They will play either the Timberwolves, the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Denver Nuggets for the championship. The latter two teams have one of the top two finishers for this year's MVP award while the other has one of the playoff's brightest stars in Anthony Edwards.

However, New York fans don't care about any of that. The team is riding momentum and have a chance to etch their names into New York basketball history in the Eastern Conference Finals. Fans and experts have doubted the Knicks all season, but now they have a chance to prove all their haters wrong.

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About the author

Zachary Howell

Zachary Howell is an NBA and WNBA journalist at Sportskeeda with a degree in Broadcast and Digital Journalism from Syracuse University and over a year of experience in the field.

Being introduced to the digital side of content inspired Zachary to become a writer, and his love of basketball made this an obvious transition.

His favorite team is the OKC Thunder, and Zachary started following them in 2011 when they were on the rise with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. His favorite basketball players from the past are Tim Duncan, Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal. Those three came to define their eras of basketball and were dominant without beating their chests too much. Zachary is a big fan of quiet greatness and these three players are good embodiments of that.

When not writing or watching sports, Zachary enjoys reading and exercising, as well as gaming. He loves to be outside and spend time with friends and family, including his three dogs.

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