The Boston Celtics have lost two consecutive playoff games to the New York Knicks, making them the first NBA team to blow 20-point leads and lose in back-to-back playoff games.
Celtics Once Again Disappeared In The Fourth Quarter
After giving up a 20-point Game 1 lead to the Knicks and losing in overtime, the Celtics again blew a big lead in Wednesday night’s Game 2, missing shots in crunch time as New York secured a 91-90 victory.
“Two games we’re up 20 points somehow end up not with wins is inexcusable,” Celtics star Jaylen Brown said. “Obviously being down two, it sucks.”
New York overcame a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter in Game 1, then battled back after trailing by 16 points early in the fourth of Game 2.
The Knicks didn’t take their first lead of the game until there were four minutes remaining. They have led for just 12 minutes total in the two games.
Brown turned over the ball on the last possession of Game 1, when Knicks wing Mikal Bridges stripped him. Jayson Tatum also turned over the ball on the final possession of Game 2 — this time Bridges deflected a pass after Tatum dribbled into a double team with the clock running out.
“They made every play. … I thought we generated some good looks and then I thought we had some live-ball turnovers and they took advantage of it, so they made the necessary plays to win,” said Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla. “We put ourselves in position and we just didn’t make the plays.”
Boston Set An NBA Playoff Record With 45 Missed 3-Pointers In Game 1
More importantly, the Celtics missed 14 of their final 15 shots and were outscored 23-6 over the last 8:30 in Game 2. Boston won 61 games in the regular season — and secured the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference — thanks to their reliance on the long ball.
During the 2024-25 regular season, Boston set the single-season record for most 3-pointers attempted and made. The Celtics attempted 3,955 shots from beyond the arc, and they made 1,457 of those shots. Both set single-season records.
However, in Game 1 against the Knicks, the Celtics set an NBA playoff record with 45 missed 3-pointers in their shocking loss. Boston led by as many as 20 points before the Knicks started clawing their way back.
The Celtics have shot a combined 4-of-26 on 3s in the fourth quarters of Games 1 and 2. The team is also 3-of-20 shooting in clutch time, defined as the last five minutes of the game with the score within five points, over the two games.
Tatum and Brown are a combined 1-of-12 in those moments.
Boston is also facing an 0-2 series deficit for the first time since the 2023 Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat. The Celtics started that series with three consecutive losses before winning three straight to force Game 7, but they were blown out by a final score of 103-84 on their home court.
In addition, the C’s were down 0-2 in their 2021 Eastern Conference first-round series with the Brooklyn Nets. The Celtics were defeated in five games, marking the first time they were eliminated in the first round since 2016.