Garden Party: Again? Really?
The Celtics fell to the Knicks in Game 1 on Monday, blowing a 20-point lead to lose in overtime at TD Garden.
But wait, get this: The Celtics
also
fell to the Knicks in
Game 2
on
Wednesday
, blowing a 20-point lead to lose in regulation at TD Garden.
Is anyone else feeling like Bill Murray's character in the critically acclaimed 1993 film 'Groundhog Day'?
It didn't look nearly as ugly as Monday's loss, but Wednesday was an equally brutal collapse to witness, as the Celtics fell to 0-2 in a series that many expected them to sweep.
How did it happen
again
? No one seems to know.
'Two games up 20 points, and somehow we end up not with wins,'
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Let's get into it.
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About last night and what's on deck
Stop me if you've heard this before
The Celtics held a 20-point lead, 73-53, with 3:10 left in the third quarter, just as they had two nights prior. And just as it did Monday, that lead dwindled until New York surged ahead in the final minutes.
After a pair of free throws from Jalen Brunson gave the Knicks a 91-90 lead with 12 seconds to go, the Celtics inbounded with a chance to win it. Jayson Tatum —
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Boston missed 45 of 60 threes in Game 1 and 30 of 40 in Game 2. I'll do the math for you: a neat 25 percent from distance for the team who this season took more threes and made more threes than any team in the history of the league.
The Celtics dropped two straight just three times this season and lost only three playoff games year en route to Banner 18.
Now, they'll head into a hostile Madison Square Garden having lost two in a row and three of their last four playoff games.
Brown called it an 'un-ideal situation,' which I would say is the understatement of the year.
This just about sums up Games 1 and 2 for the Celtics.
Barry Chin/Globe Staff
Around the leagues ...
🏀 At least one top seed managed a win in the second round! The Thunder stomped on the Nuggets, 149-106, to even that Western Conference series at 1-1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led all scorers with 34.
🏒 With two second-period goals from Julia Gosling, the Toronto Sceptres held off the Minnesota Frost in the first game of the PWHL's Walter Cup Playoffs. Ottawa and Montreal will face off on the other side of the bracket Thursday at 7 p.m.
🏒 Anton Lundell tied things up for the Panthers against the Maple Leafs late in the third period, but Mitch Marner had an answer, and Toronto took a 2-0 series lead with a 4-3 win.
🏒 Busy second period up in Winnipeg, as the Jets and Stars combined for five goals in the middle frame and went scoreless in the first and third. Dallas won Game 1, 3-2.
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🗓️ Up next:
The Celtics-Knicks series will shift to New York, with Game 3 set for Saturday at Madison Square Garden.
In the know
What adjustments need to be made?
Jayson Tatum looked lost on Wednesday.
Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
We chatted with Globe columnist Chad Finn after that ugly loss. Here's what he said.
Describe Game 2 in one word.
Among words that are printable here? Staggering. It's staggering that the Celtics are down 2-0 to a team they beat four straight times in the regular season. It's staggering they can't make a shot. It's staggering that Joe Mazzulla is
What adjustments do you think the Celtics need to make to win on Saturday?
The simple answer is take and make good shots. Sounds trite, but it really is that simple.
In Game 1, when they got up 20, they went for the knockout blow over and over again while their lead dwindled. Not a great strategy, but it's human nature to try to do that.
Game 2 was worse, because they tried to play with more discipline and just stunk it up in a bunch of different ways.
It wasn't just the 3-point shooting that was lousy, it was all of their shooting in the second half. One of the big issues is that often, when they need 2 points, they'd run an ISO for Kristaps Porzingis at the elbow. But he's so
To get the offense going, I'm not sure there is much they can do strategically. But I do know this: Mazzulla needs to use his timeouts, and he can't put the Celtics in the bonus again by deliberately fouling Mitchell Robinson. He gets an F-minus for Game 2.
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Give us your prediction for the series as it stands now.
It's been annoying to hear from so many Celtics fans who already are writing them off and acting like last year never happened. (A common thread in those correspondences: Tatum is no Bird! Yeah, pal, who is?) So I'll be the one that doesn't abandon them. Celtics in 7. Don't ask me if I believe it, though.
For the group chat
The Great TD Garden Fire (?) of 2025
At least two fire trucks (one pictured here) responded to the alarm.
Emma Healy/Globe staff
I'd like to start out by saying that no one was injured, and thus I am allowed to make jokes about this situation.
Where were you when
I'll tell you where I was:
Interesting that on the night he shot 26 percent from the field an alarm went off before he had to face the music ...
The reason for the alarm was unclear, but the all-clear was given within 20 minutes of evacuation.
'A fire alarm went off tonight post-game and the arena was evacuated. No one was injured,' read a statement from TD Garden. 'The cause of the fire alarm is currently under investigation.'
Maybe the culprit was in the building — just saying!
Go deeper
Three stories you shouldn't miss
Jaylen Brown did some heavy lifting on the score sheet, but it wasn't enough.
Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
🏈 David Tyree flashbacks?
Dan Shaughnessy is getting nervous. Is this 2008? When did Joe Mazzulla turn into Grady Little?
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🔥 Feelin' like '23?
Watching Game 2,
🤔 But ... how?
When the Knicks sliced a 20-point deficit to 12 by the start of the fourth quarter, the nervous energy in TD Garden began to spike. It wouldn't happen again, would it? It couldn't happen again, right?
Emma Healy can be reached at
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