The New York Knicks (59-35 straight up, 48-45-1 against the spread) are going to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years.

They punched their way past Boston, the #2 seed in the East and the defending NBA champion, with powerful haymakers all night long Friday at Madison Square Garden to capture a 119-81 win as 2.5-point home favorites.

The 200 combined points dropped ‘under’ the 210.5-point total. New York won the series as a monster +550 underdog.

The 38-point victory in Game 6 was the most lopsided playoff win in franchise history, and it was the first time the team had won a playoff series on its home floor since 1999.

MSG was rocking in the first quarter when the Knicks jumped out to a 26-20 lead. The crowd worked its way into a frenzy when Tom Thibodeau’s club outscored the Celtics 38-17 in the second quarter to take a 64-37 lead into halftime.

The 27-point halftime lead matched the franchise’s biggest in a postseason game during the shot-clock era. New York had led the Lakers 69-42 in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals, the same game in which Willis Reed returned from injury to spark his squad.

When the Knicks extended their lead to 41 points in the third quarter, Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla started pulling his starters. That group didn’t include Jayson Tatum, who sustained a torn Achilles in Game 4 and was back at home recovering from surgery.

Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby led six Knicks in double figures with 23 points apiece. Brunson hit 8-of-14 field-goal attempts, all four his free throws and added six assists and six rebounds. Anunoby had nine boards, two steals, two blocked shots and a pair of assists.

Mikal Bridges contributed 22 points, four boards, three assists, a pair of blocked shots and one steal, while Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Josh Hart had a triple-double with 10 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds. Miles McBride also scored 10 points.

In the losing effort, Boston’s Jaylen Brown had 20 points, six rebounds and six assists. Payton Pritchard and Al Horford were also in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Indiana (58-34 SU, 43-48-1 ATS) will play at New York in Game 1 of the East finals on Wednesday night. As of early Saturday afternoon, most books had the Knicks installed as 4.5-point home favorites with a total of 223. The Pacers were +155 to +160 on the money line.

FanDuel had New York as a -148 ‘chalk’ to win the series, leaving Indiana as a +126 underdog. For the series spread, the betting shop had the Knicks at -1.5 games for a +152 payout. Bettors could also take the Knicks at -2.5 games (+280) and -3.5 games (+980).

On the flip side, FanDuel gamblers can take Indiana at -1.5 games, -2.5 and -3.5 for returns of +225, +590 and +1300 (or 13/1), respectively.

FanDuel was also offering a prop bet for how many specific games the series will last. Those odds were +610 for a four-game sweep by either team, +270 for five games, +220 for the series to end in six and +186 for it to go the seven-game distance.

These teams met three times during the regular season, with the Knicks going 2-1 both SU and ATS. The ‘over’ went 2-1 with combined scores of 221, 253 and 243 points.

On Oct. 25, New York trounced Indiana 123-98 as a 4.5-point home favorite, as the 221 combined points dropped ‘under’ the 228.5-point total. Both teams were healthy with all of their top players available.

Brunson led the way for the winners with 26 points, five rebounds and five assists. In his MSG regular-season debut as a Knick, Towns finished with 21 points, 15 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. Bridges had 21 points and five assists compared to only one turnover, while Hart produced 20 points, 10 rebounds and three assists.

Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton was held scoreless in 25-plus minutes of playing time. He had five assists compared to just one turnover, but he missed all eight of his field-goal attempts and all seven launches from 3-point range.

Benedict Mathurin scored a team-high 20 points on 8-of-13 FGAs. Myles Turner had 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots.

Indiana got revenge at home on Nov. 10 by beating the Knicks 132-121 as a 3.5-point home underdog. The Pacers trailed by three at halftime and by two entering the fourth quarter, but they outscored New York 40-27 in the final stanza.

Mathurin was in the starting lineup in place of Aaron Nesmith and took full advantage, producing 38 points and eight rebounds on 13-of-18 FGAs. He buried 7-of-9 from 3-point land and 5-of-6 free throws.

Haliburton was spectacular with 35 points and 14 assists, draining 11-of-18 FGAs and 4-of-10 from 3-point land. Turner finished with 26 points, six boards and two blocked shots.

Brunson was outstanding in defeat, contributing 33 points, 10 assists and six rebounds while hitting 11-of-17 FGAs. Towns had 30 points and nine rebounds, while Anunoby had 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field.

The rubber match of the three-game regular-season series took place at Indiana on Feb. 11, as the Knicks won a 128-115 decision with the 243 combined points inching ‘over’ the 242.5-point total on a dunk by the Pacers’ Obi Toppin with 31.1 seconds remaining.

Towns stole the show at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on a night when New York’s Anunoby and Indiana’s Turner were sidelined by injuries, scoring a game-high 40 points to go with 12 rebounds, five assists and three steals. Hart added 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, burying 12-of-16 FGAs. McBride scored 15 points in 25 minutes of action off the bench.

Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 24 points and five boards. With Turner sidelined, Thomas Bryant started and played 32 minutes, contributing 18 points, nine rebounds, four assists and one block. Haliburton finished with 16 points, eight assists and five rebounds.

Indiana has compiled an 8-2 SU record and a 7-3 ATS mark in the playoffs thus far. Rick Carlisle’s team eliminated both Milwaukee and Cleveland in five games, with each of its defeats coming in Game 3.

In those 10 postseason games, Haliburton is averaging 17.5 points, 9.3 assists and 5.5 RPG. Andrew Nembhard has elevated his production in the playoffs for a second straight season. He’s averaging 14.6 points, 6.0 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game.

Nembhard has buried 50.0 percent of his treys, 50.5 percent of his FGAs and 87.5 percent of his free throws. Turner has also played well, averaging 16.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots per game. He’s made 50.9 percent of his FGAs and 45.0 percent of his 3-balls.

The ‘over’ is 6-4 for the Pacers in the playoffs and 13-7-1 since March 26 to improve to 49-40-3. The ‘under’ is 6-5-1 for the Knicks in the playoffs to make their totals an overall wash at 46-46-2.

New York is 8-4 both SU and ATS in its 12 postseason games, going 3-3 both SU and ATS in six home contests.

Indiana is 8-3 both SU and ATS in its last 11 games as an underdog, including wins at Minnesota, at Denver, at Milwaukee and three wins at Cleveland.

The series opener is set for Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on TNT.

**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**

-As of early Saturday afternoon, most books had Oklahoma City installed as an 8.5-point home favorite for Sunday’s Game 7 vs. Denver at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC. The Nuggets were +270 to +285 (Circa) on the money line at most spots. They had been 7.5-point road underdogs until Friday night when ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Denver forward Aaron Gordon is dealing with a strained hamstring that has his status for Game 7 in doubt.

–Denver has to be annoyed with the officiating from late in the fourth quarter in Game 6, as it appears that Chet Holmgren commits a foul on Gordon. Instead of getting a whistle, Gordon injures his hamstring trying to recover the ball that Holmgren knocked loose while fouling him.

-Denver is on an 8-1-1 ATS tear in its last 10 games.

-The ‘over’ is on a 6-3 run for the Nuggets.

-I have four in-pocket future tickets alive. I have these three teams to win the NBA Finals: Denver at +3500 or 35/1, Minnesota at 17/1 and Indiana at 15/1. I also have the Pacers at +300 to win the East finals.

-The updated odds to win the NBA Finals at FanDuel have Oklahoma City as a +105 favorite. The next-shortest odds belong to New York (+350), Minnesota (+460), Indiana (+700) and Denver (+1100 or 11/1).

–PREDICTIONS: I was all about Denver at +7.5 yesterday before finding out about Gordon’s injury. The extra day of rest – Game 6 was on Thursday in Denver – certainly helps Gordon’s cause. We don’t know if it was a Grade 1 strain like the one that had Steph Curry out for eight days and missing four straight games vs. Minnesota in the West semifinals. Therefore, I’m in a holding pattern until I can find out more about Gordon’s status.

However, there’s no holding pattern with the series opener of the East finals. Give me the Pacers +4.5 for one unit. I haven’t played it yet, but I’m a slight lean to the ‘over’ as well. IF I play it, it will be a smaller play than Pacers +4.5.