BOSTON — With 5:47 left in the third quarter of Game 1, the Boston Celtics were up by 20 points. A 75-55 lead on their home floor. Over the next 22:47 seconds of game time, the New York Knicks slowly but surely clawed their way back. As Boston missed three after three, Jalen Brunson led a charge that completely flipped the game on its head.
The once-buzzing TD Garden was left in a state of shock. All of the energy and exhilaration that filled the building were gone in a matter of minutes. Every ounce of momentum there was to gain belonged to the Knicks.
“That's a really good team,” said Jayson Tatum. “It's a game of runs.”
Not only were the Celtics missing open three-point attempts, but they were giving the Knicks a chance to run. A chance to swing Boston misses into quality offensive options for themselves.
“We left some of their good shooters open,” Joe Mazzulla said. “I think Anunoby went on a small run by himself. So some personnel stuff. They were able to get out and transition off some of our misses, and then, I think they had a 5-0 run off of offensive rebounds.
“So, some detail stuff that we have to be able to be better at. And I thought we missed, I think at that run, I thought we missed some good ones, and I thought there [were] obviously a few that we can fight to get better.”
Momentum was why the Knicks came back, but execution was why the Celtics lost Game 1
Offensively, the Celtics’ execution was solid for most of the third and fourth quarters. But they let missed opportunities turn into opportunities given up.
Anunoby found open space against a scrambling Celtics defense. Brunson was able to find a rhythm from behind the arc. Everything New York turned to gold, and the Celtics aided the process along.
With 1:49 left in the third quarter, a missed Tatum step-back was met with an Anunoby dunk in transition. Josh Hart grabbed the rebound at the free-throw line, kicked it to half-court to a sprinting Anunoby, who threw down a slam that drew a roar from those in attendance wearing blue and orange.
“They definitely had momentum in the second half,” said Jaylen Brown. “They had some tough players hit some tough shots. Anunoby, Brunson, in combination, made some tough, tough shots down the stretch. We just gotta look at it, be better, and be better for Game 2.”
New York had its back against the wall while the Celtics were merely fighting to keep their lead. One side was in do-or-die mode. The other was playing on its heels.
When the Celtics missed good shots, they paid for it. So, when the Celtics missed bad shots, they really paid for it.
“Those moments, when the other team got momentum, we can't just fire up threes,” Brown said. “To break up momentum, you gotta get to the free-throw line, get to the paint, get to the basket. Maybe get an easy two, you know what I mean? Get some free throws. And then maybe the next three-pointer feels a little bit better. I feel like we just settled in the second half a lot. But we'll look at it and we'll make adjustments.”
That was the difference. For all the missed threes the Celtics fought through, they were still in the game. New York’s momentum-grabbing earned them a seat at the table, but Boston still had a chair, too.
It was only once they began straying from their process-oriented approach that the Knicks were able to pull that chair out from underneath them.
Momentum got the Knicks back in the game. Execution is why the Celtics lost.