Don't write their obituary just yet. But right now, the Boston Celtics don't look the part of a champion.
Twice, they let a 20-point lead slip away in the second half on the TD Garden parquet. Their lack of poise was as evident as their inability to make shots.
"They made the necessary plays to win, [and] we put ourselves in a position to do that and we just didn't make the plays," voiced Joe Mazzulla after Boston's 91-90 Game 2 loss.
When the Celtics mustered only 16 points in the fourth quarter of its 108-105 Game 1 loss to the New York Knicks, it matched a franchise low in the final frame of a playoff contest, per StatMuse.
For an encore, they produced 17 points in the last 12 minutes of Wednesday's 91-90 defeat. The Knicks scored 30 and shot 50 percent from the field. The hosts shot 20.8 percent from the floor.
"[At the] start of the fourth quarter, we had like four-to-five good looks in a row that didn't go in," said Jaylen Brown. "Now, we're going to see what we're made of. Come down and try to win Game 3."
There were also costly live-ball turnovers. There was a questionable but defendable decision to hack Mitchell Robinson multiple times. The seven-foot center is a poor free-throw shooter, prompting Tom Thibodeau to pivot from his double-big lineup. It also removed the player with New York's highest-plus-minus [+19].
But that put the visitors on the verge of the bonus. Jalen Brunson's game-winning free throws came on a shooting foul, but perhaps having at least one to spare without sending the Knicks to the line would've changed Boston's approach at the end.
A more costly issue was that the offensive rebounds dried up. The Celtics parlayed 16 offensive rebounds into 23 second-chance points. It was essential to propping up a unit that shot well below league average from every zone outside the restricted area where they attempted more than one shot.
Boston fared a putrid 36.2 percent from the field. The hosts followed up missing 45 threes, an NBA playoff record, by going 10/40 [25 percent] from beyond the arc.
A crucial component to playing from ahead and growing a 20-point edge was their ability to extend possessions and capitalize on those opportunities.
But in the final six minutes of Game 2, New York put an end to that. The visitors limited Boston to one offensive rebound and no second-chance points in the final six minutes. The Knicks had six of the latter in that stretch.
Give credit where it's due
Not only did New York clip the cord on Boston's needed lifeline, but at the other end of the floor, again, they were the team turning contested and quality looks into makes.
When the Celtics went up by 20, that joy quickly soured. The Knicks found their rhythm, again feeding off sloppy turnovers, like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown failing to complete a two-on-one. The same goes for running off the former's inability to capitalize on quality looks from behind the arc.
New York went from down 20 with 4:05 left in the period to pulling within 12 entering the final frame.
And while the Celtics couldn't overcome poor shooting from three-point range in the last 12 minutes, the visitors made 50 percent of their attempts despite going 3/10 from beyond the arc.
Knicks have Jayson Tatum flustered
Jayson Tatum passing up quality three-point attempts, a decision that rarely proved for the better, exemplified Boston's 45 missed triples in the series opener, living in their head in Game 2.
OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges, coupled with backline help, had the soon-to-be four-time All-NBA First Team selection out of sorts. Tatum went 1/7 in the first half. He attempted one three, a shot that badly bricked off the bottom of the backboard, missing the rim entirely.
The Celtics star finished 13 points on 19 shots in 42 minutes. He went 1/5 from three-point range, took two free throws, and had three turnovers. Before Tatum could arrive at the podium, a fire alarm abruptly ended post-game media availabilities.
Joe Mazzulla said of what's troubled the six-time All-Star in this series, "I think Game 1 wasn't inefficient. I thought he missed some really good looks. I thought today he passed up some ones that he was able to take. So, their switchability, their ability to impact shifts, definitely impacted him tonight."
Boston can turn this series around. As Jaylen Brown told Hardwood Houdini, the NBA's reigning champions will lean on "each other. It's an opportunity to show what we're made of. Obviously, we wouldn't like to be in this position, but we're here now, so we've got to respond."
The Celtics are the more talented team in this series. But they're also the side that must get right mentally, snap out of a three-point slump that has turned a source of strength into a 25/100 performance from beyond the arc in this series, and execute with poise under pressure.
They're capable of returning to TD Garden with the series tied at two. But Madison Square Garden eagerly awaits their beloved Knicks and the chance to send their rivals into a summer of uncertainty, with a significant roster makeover likely awaiting them.
It's a lot to grapple. And while the favorite usually prevails in a best-of-seven, the Celtics head to a concrete jungle that's looking to break them. Avoiding that requires tapping into the mental resolve and shot making that have abandoned them as they try to become the first team since the 2019 Golden State Warriors to advance past the second round after lifting the Larry O'Brien Trophy.