BOSTON – Jalen Brunson has dreamed of getting back to the Eastern Conference finals his entire career.

Yes, we said getting back.

The Knicks point guard was there 25 years ago when the Knicks last reached the finals of their conference. He doesn’t remember a whole lot, given that he was 3 years old and cheering for his father, Rick, from the stands. But it's been his dream nonetheless.

Brunson’s Knicks team entered TD Garden Wednesday night with a 3-1 lead over the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinal series. With his team having three chances to eliminate a Celtics squad that is playing without their best player, Jayson Tatum, who suffered an Achilles tear in Game 4, Brunson is on the precipice of fulfilling that dream in the most spectacular of ways.

No player has been more responsible for getting the Knicks to this point than Brunson, who heading into Wednesday night’s Game 5 was averaging 30.1 points in the playoffs, third most in the NBA.

Brunson has come up huge again and again late in games to put the Knicks on the cusp of history. In the Knicks’ 121-113 win in Game 4, Brunson scored 18 of his 39 points in the third quarter when the Knicks were digging themselves out of a hole.

It's the fourth quarter, however, when Brunson has really imposed his will. On Monday, Brunson became the highest scorer in fourth quarters through the first 10 games of a playoffs since 1997, eclipsing Kobe Bryant and Stephen Curry.

“He’s someone that you’re only going to hold him down for so long,” Josh Hart said of Brunson’s fourth-quarter prowess. “Once he figures it out, once he sees the ball go through the (net) it’s going to be tough for any opponent. He did what we needed him to do. We need him to bring that on Wednesday.”

It seems only appropriate that the Knicks will play the Indiana Pacers if they win this series.

Rick Brunson, now a Knicks assistant coach, came off the bench for the Knicks in both the 1999 and 2000 Eastern Conference finals. Both series were against the Pacers. The Knicks won the first in six and advanced to the Finals. They lost the second in six and haven’t been back since.

Jalen Brunson may not remember much about watching those teams, but he is reminded of their greatness whenever he visits his parents' house in New Jersey.

“I see the Finals jersey hanging up on the wall and it’s pretty cool to see,” Brunson said.

Brunson has said previously that he never looks at any of the memorabilia he’s collected over the course of his basketball career: His two NCAA titles at Villanova, the Wooden Award, his two NBA All-Star appearances, his Clutch Player of the Year Award.

Brunson plans to enjoy them all someday, but he’s not ready to take it all in yet. He still has too much to do.

“For the longest time, whenever something’s accomplished, I’m moving forward to the next. It’s just how I’ve been,” Brunson said immediately after the Knicks put Boston on the ropes by coming back from 14 points down to win Game 4. “Dating back to high school, college championships, everything that I’ve ever won — there’s nothing in my house. Because I’m just looking forward to, ‘How can I be better?’ I give all the memorabilia to my parents. They can keep it. And when I’m done, I’ll look back and see everything.”

Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, who was an assistant coach on the last Knicks team to go to the Eastern Conference finals, could have never imagined that the little kid watching from the stands would become one of the most important leaders in franchise history, let alone one of the most intense competitors he’s ever coached.

““It’s just the way he’s wired,” Thibodeau said. “A lot of poise under pressure. His confidence, I think, is always super high just because of the way he prepares and the way he works.”

Twenty-five years of pressure is a lot for anyone to carry on their shoulders and one can only imagine the accolades Brunson will receive if his team can go deeper into the postseason. As for any memorabilia that comes along the way, Brunson will be happy to store it in his parents' house.

He's got plenty of dreams to fulfill.