Knicks 88, Celtics 80: Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points and visiting New York took control early before holding off a furious comeback to win the Eastern Conference playoff series in six games.

Iman Shumpert scored 17 points and Pablo Prigioni added 14 for the second-seeded Knicks, who bounced back from consecutive losses to win their first postseason series since 2000 and advance to play No. 3 seed Indiana in the next round. New York will host the Pacers in Game 1 on Sunday.

Jeff Green had 21 points and Kevin Garnett added 15 and 10 rebounds for Boston, which was limited to 10 points in the first quarter and 27 in the opening half in losing in the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2005.

New York put the Celtics on their heels right from the start, using a 17-1 burst en route to a 24-10 first-quarter lead. The Knicks led by 12 at the half and appeared to deliver the knockout punch when Iman Shumpert buried a pair of 3-pointers and J.R. Smith connected from long range in a 12-2 burst to make it 67-47.

A basket by Shumpert pushed the lead to a staggering 26 points with just over 9 1/2 minutes to play, but Boston came to life and ripped off 20 consecutive points to pull within 75-69 with 5:43 left. The Celtics cut the lead to four before Anthony hit a jumper and a 3-pointer to ignite an 8-0 spurt and restore the lead back to a dozen.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Knicks were 12-of-52 from 3-point range in Games 4 and 5, but they knocked down 5-of-6 in the decisive third quarter. Shumpert and Prigioni combined to go 7-of-9 from long range. ... Paul Pierce scored 15 points but shot only 4-of-18, including 1-of-9 from behind the arc. ... Boston's 10-point first quarter marked the sixth time in the series it was limited to 14 points or fewer in one quarter.