What brought on the Celtics to squander a 20-point second-half lead and lose to the New York Knicks — then endure the very same ignominy once more two nights later?
There isn’t one all-encompassing reply to that query. Defensive breakdowns performed a component. So did questionable late-game teaching choices, like Joe Mazzulla pushing New York into the bonus with intentional fouls and protecting his ultimate timeout holstered in crunch time. Participant availability, too, with Kristaps Porzingis restricted by a long-running sickness and Sam Hauser sidelined with an ankle sprain.
However the easiest, most pertinent and most alarming clarification is that this:
The group that simply set the NBA report for made 3-pointers in a season abruptly can not shoot.
Video games 1 and a couple of of the Japanese Convention semifinals at TD Backyard featured, with out hyperbole, Boston’s two worst taking pictures performances of the season.
The Celtics didn’t shoot worse than 36.5% in any of their 82 regular-season video games or 5 first-round playoff video games. On Monday night time towards the Knicks, they shot 35.1% and lost 108-105 in overtime. On Wednesday, it was 36.2% in a 91-90 defeat.
In each video games, the Celtics led by 20 factors after the midway mark of the third quarter. From these factors ahead, they went a mixed 14-for-67 from the sector (20.9%) and 8-for-42 from 3-point vary (19.0%).
General, Boston has taken 100 threes in its second-round sequence and missed a staggering 75 of them. And its high gamers have been the worst offenders.
Jayson Tatum, after torching Orlando’s vaunted defense within the prior spherical, was 7-for-23 in Recreation 1 and 5-for-19 in Recreation 2. He’s tried 20 threes and made 5.
Jaylen Brown has posted related stat traces: 7-for-20 in Recreation 1, 8-for-23 in Recreation 2, 3-for-17 from deep between the 2, with simply three factors after halftime Wednesday night time.
Derrick White, the proprietor of the Celtics’ single-season 3-point record, made his first two triples in Recreation 2, then bricked eight of his ultimate 9.
“We simply had the flexibility to make performs tonight, and we didn’t,” Brown mentioned after Wednesday’s loss. “Me, Jayson, Derrick — we bought lots of nice seems, as we’ve simply bought to transform. We’ve bought to make performs. We simply didn’t make performs tonight, and that was the story of the sport. Our protection did sufficient. We bought some nice open seems. We’ve bought to transform these.”
After a Payton Pritchard 3-pointer put the Celtics forward 84-68 with 8:40 remaining in Recreation 2, they proceeded to overlook their subsequent 13 photographs — 4 by Brown, three by White, two by Tatum, two by Pritchard and two by Al Horford, who started over Porzingis and went 2-for-11 (0-for-5 from three). Boston went greater than eight consecutive minutes and not using a made area objective, throughout which New York accomplished its comeback, pulling forward on an 18-footer by Jalen Brunson with 1:59 remaining.
Tatum lastly ended that drought with a go-ahead end-to-end dunk with 18.1 seconds to play, however Brunson free throws on the following possession offered the profitable margin for New York. Tatum was unable to get a shot off towards Mikal Bridges as time expired, the identical destiny that befell Brown within the waning moments of Recreation 1.
(Tatum didn’t converse with reporters postgame as a result of the arena was evacuated earlier than his information convention might start. The trigger: a minor hearth in a TD Backyard elevator shaft, a becoming finish to a dysfunctional night time for the constructing’s tenants.)
The Knicks boast three gifted wing defenders in Bridges, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart, however that they had minimal success towards Tatum, Brown and Co. throughout the common season. In 4 conferences, the Celtics shot 50% from the sector and 43.5% from three whereas averaging 125.0 factors per recreation — marks they haven’t sniffed on this sequence.
“All all through the sport, we might’ve in all probability shot the ball higher, did this higher, then we (might have pulled) away much more,” mentioned Porzingis, whose sickness restricted him to a few fourth-quarter minutes over the 2 video games. “However they hung round, and related outcome. It sucks actually unhealthy proper now. However we bought lots of basketball to be performed, and let’s see the place this goes.”
Wednesday’s loss pushed the Celtics right into a jam they’ve efficiently escaped simply twice in franchise historical past. The opposite 16 occasions they fell behind 0-2 in a best-of-seven sequence, they misplaced, as such groups throughout the NBA have achieved 85.7% of the group. The lone exceptions for Boston got here within the opening spherical of the 2017 playoffs, when the Celtics gained 4 straight to knock off the eighth-seeded Chicago Bulls in six, and the 1969 NBA Finals, when Invoice Russell gained his ultimate title in a seven-game epic towards Wilt Chamberlain’s Lakers.
These Celtics can draw optimism from the truth that they have been the league’s finest street group this season (33-8 away from Boston) and amongst its most resilient, having not misplaced three straight video games in almost two full years (because the 2023 East finals towards Miami). Additionally, the outcomes of their two monumentally poor taking pictures performances have been a three-point loss in extra time and a one-point loss, each of which that they had an opportunity to tie or win on the ultimate possession.
However these bafflingly inefficient outings have left the Celtics with little room for error. After changing into the primary group within the play-by-play period (since 1996-97) to lose a number of video games after main by 20-plus in the identical postseason (by no means thoughts the identical sequence), they now should win 4 of their subsequent 5 to keep away from changing into the sixth straight defending NBA champion to bow out earlier than the convention finals.
“Not a perfect state of affairs, being down 0-2,” mentioned Brown, who known as the sequence deficit “inexcusable.” “However what’s achieved is finished. We’ve bought to verify we’re prepared to return out … for Recreation 3. I believe we’re due for lots of makes. I believe we had lots of nice photographs tonight that, as soon as once more, didn’t go in. We’ve simply bought to chill out, take a deep breath, come out and play Celtic basketball. Identical to we’re down 0-2, we will tie this factor again up.”
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