Mar 7, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) and LA Clippers center Ivica Zubac (40) reach for the ball in the first half at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
A win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night at home can tip off a whole new kind of Garden party for the New York Knicks.
The Knicks (45-26) can become the third team on the Eastern Conference leaderboard to clinch its 2025 NBA playoff spots with a win in the interconference clash with the Clippers (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG). The Knicks’ magic number to clinch is down to one after their own triumph over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday and the Atlanta Hawks’ defeat in Houston later that night.
Though the Knicks obviously have larger aspirations, clinching a playoff spot alongside conference leaders Cleveland and Boston would be a solid landmark on the franchise timeline: it would secure, for example, three consecutive berths for the first time since 2011-13 while head coach Tom Thibodeau would become the fifth Knicks coach to take the team to the playoffs on at least four occasions, joining Red Holzman, Joe Lapchick, Jeff Van Gundy, and Pat Riley.
The Knicks can’t catch Eastern front-runner Cleveland and chasing runner-up/defending champion Boston is also likely a futile exercise. They do, however, hold a three-game lead on the Indiana Pacers for the third seed on the current bracket, putting them on pace for consecutive top three finishes for the first time since 1993-95.
Securing the fateful berth won’t be easy: the Clippers (40-31) are competing for the sixth and final automatic playoff spot in the West and previously secured a 105-95 win over the Knicks on March 5 at Intuit Dome. Entering Wednesday play, Los Angeles is a half-game behind Golden State for that slot.
Should the Knicks fail to secure the spot on Wednesday, they would get it if the Hawks fall to the Miami Heat on Thursday night. Otherwise, the Knicks can do it themselves on Friday in Milwaukee.
