©David Butler - Imagn Imaes
Audio By Carbonatix
The Boston Celtics outplayed the Knicks for most of Monday’s Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals in Boston, but blew a 20-point second half lead and found a way to lose in overtime. A big problem in that loss was the amount of threes they took and the amount of those they made, but pretty much everyone agreed that they would have a better plan and would attack the rim more on Wednesday during Game 2.
That didn’t happen. Wednesday’s game was, in many ways, deja vu for the Celtics, as they once again blew a 20-point second half lead due to poor shot selection and poor shot-making. Now, they’re down 2-0 and have to go play two games in what will be a raucous Madison Square Garden on Saturday and Monday.
Again, the Celtics looked to be firmly in control pretty much the entire way through the game. They jumped out to a 24-13 lead after a quarter, led by nine at half, and extended that lead to 20 with just over 14 minutes left in the game. They led by 14 with just over seven minutes left. But, just like on Monday, the offense completely collapsed.
#Celtics after taking a 20-point lead with 3:12 in the third quarter:
FG: 5-of-28 (17.9%)
3PT: 2-of-14 (14.3%)
6 turnovers— Justin Turpin (@JustinmTurpin) May 8, 2025
They blew the game, and lost, 91-90.
TATUM DOESN'T GET THE SHOT OFF ‼️
KNICKS WIN GAME 2 🤯 pic.twitter.com/q8JH0dYKvU
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 8, 2025
The Celtics were 15-60 from deep in Game 1. In Game 2, they weren’t any better, going 10-40. That’s pretty easy math: they’re shooting 25-100 for the series, good for 25%. They’re one of, if not the best, three point shooting teams of all-time. They shot an NBA record number of threes this year, and they’ve been getting great looks against New York and have been missing them. They’re down 2-0 and have to go to what will be a madhouse Madison Square Garden for Games 3 and 4. Will they change it up or continue to shoot a ton of threes? It may define their season.