BOSTON — By the time the Celtics walked off the court after their stunning Game 1 overtime loss to the Knicks, they had made history. Their 45 missed 3-pointers was an NBA playoffs record, and it was well-earned as the Celtics shot just 15-for-60 (25%) from behind the arc.
The C’s blew it against the Knicks in Game 1 of the East semifinals. They went up by 20 points midway through the third quarter, looking like they were going to blow out their division rivals. But instead, the Knicks rallied and the Celtics faltered. After the loss, Jaylen Brown made a blunt admission when it came to their 3-pointers.
“It’s just being poised to recognize when to take it and when not to take it,” Brown said. “I don’t think we did a good job tonight of seeing the game, understanding the game. We were just firing it up for whatever reason. We’ve got to find a better rhythm to the paint, get a paint touch, get to the free-throw line and those 3s feel a little better. But we’ll look at it. Obviously we were excited to start the second round of the playoffs, but we’ve got to play with more poise than we did tonight.”
The Celtics got up 3-pointers, which is a key part of their game. They made NBA history earlier this season when they downed the Knicks, knocking down 29 3-pointers during the season opener. This time, though, it was historic futility as the C’s also shot 9-for-34 from 3 in the second half. That means 34 out of their 41 field-goal attempts came from beyond the arc.
On the flip side, the Knicks were excellent from deep, shooting 11-for-19 on 3s in the second half. That allowed them to mount their comeback effort to erase the 20-point difference. The Celtics got some good looks, but as they admitted postgame, they settled on multiple looks as the misses snowballed down the stretch of the loss.
“It‘s a lot of shots that we want certain guys taking and felt like we got some good looks,” Jayson Tatum said. “Obviously, in hindsight, if we could go back, we probably would drive the ball a little bit more because we missed a lot of shots tonight. But it’s a balance. Sometimes it’s a make-or-miss league, and then there’s sometimes where you know you can get a better shot.”
The Celtics’ stars were far from blameless. Brown was just 1-for-10 on 3s while Tatum finished 4-for-15. The 3-pointers were there, and the Celtics did generate some good looks. But they didn’t drop consistently as the groans came from the TD Garden crowd as each miss stacked up.
So the Celtics promised they would go look at the film and fix their shortcomings. It’s the first time in the past two playoffs they’re trailing a series. But it also comes with the context that it was just one game, one loss over the course of what they hope will be another deep playoff run. That still doesn’t change their Game 1 performance that left the C’s fans in attendance disappointed by the end.
“In those moments when other teams got momentum, we can’t just fire up 3s to break up momentum,” Brown said. “You got to get to the free-throw line, get to the paint, get to the basket, maybe get an easy two. Get some free throws, and then maybe the next 3-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.”
