The Boston Celtics had their hearts set on winning the 19th NBA championship in team history and bringing home the title for the second year in a row. There was no reason to believe that they were going to see that goal get flushed down the drain in their second-round matchup with the New York Knicks.
The Celtics had beaten the Knicks in all four regular-season meetings and New York had struggled quite a bit in its first-round victory over the Detroit Pistons. All signs pointed to a significant Celtics triumph.
But the Celtics suffered a disastrous fate in the matchup. Not only did they lose the series in six games, they also lost superstar Jayson Tatum for at least the next eight months and possibly longer as a result of a torn Achilles. Jaylen Brown also came out of the series with a meniscus injury that may require surgery.
Tatum went down in the late stages of Game 4 with his injury. The Celtics could not blame the injury for a loss that left them with a 3-1 deficit in the series. The Knicks has already rallied in the second half to seize control of the game and the Celtics had shown no signs of a late-game reversal.
Boston’s character and determination came to the surface in Game 5 as they rallied for a 127-102 victory without their superstar. However, the Knicks returned home to Madison Square Garden for Game 6 and played their strongest game of the series. They took control early and routed the Celtics by 38 points. It was the largest margin of victory in Knicks postseason history and propelled New York to the Eastern Conference Final.
“It stings,” Brown said, per Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. “Any time losing stings, especially finishing your season like this. It just wasn’t our year. Things didn’t go our way this year. It’s unfortunate but we hold up our heads regardless.”
Celtics blew the series with home losses in Games 1 and 2
The Tatum injury was brutal for the Celtics, but the series was likely gone before he got hurt. The Celtics did not take the Knicks for granted in Games 1 and 2 as they built 20-point leads in both games. However, once they had those big leads, they started to make sloppy mistakes with their ball handling and they also missed their signature 3-point shots.
It wasn’t just a matter of their substandard play, either. The Knicks turned up the intensity in the second half of both games. The Knicks played stellar defense and harassed Brown and his teammates into ugly turnovers and the Knicks took capitalized on those errors.
Knicks superstar Jalen Brunson took it upon himself to take over the Knicks offense when the game was on the line. No matter how close Jrue Holiday defended him, Brunson found a way to shake loose and make his shots.
Brunson scored 29 points in Game 1 and he received plenty of support from OG Anunoby who also came through with a 29-point effort. Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns both contributed 14 points.
While the Knicks were getting a solid all-around effort, the Celtics made just 15 of 60 three-point shots.
The Knicks used another huge rally in the 4th quarter to win Game 2 at the TD Garden. They outscored the Celtics 30-17 in the final stanza, and Hart led the Knicks with 23 points while Towns supported him with 21 points and 17 rebounds. Brunson did not have a great night with 17 points on 6 of 19 shooting, but he made key free throws when the game was on the line.
Celtics revert to individual play in the final moments
The Celtics are known for their team play. While Tatum and Brown are their stars, Derrick White, Al Horford, Payton Pritchard and Holiday are all capable of nailing big shots when the game was on the line.
However, in the first two losses to the Knicks, it seemed the Celtics decided to play one-on-one basketball and they failed badly. Their inefficiency led to an overtime loss in the first game of the series and a one-point defeat in Game 2.
Much of this is on Mazzulla, who often eschews late-game timeouts and regularly chooses to let the game play out. Even when he does call a time out, the Celtics rarely come up with the kind of play that will surprise opponents and lead to an open look by a capable shooter.
Celtics come up empty in Game 6 finale
After the easy Celtics triumph in Game 5, there was some thought that the Knicks were feeling the pressure and that coming home for Game 6 would be a difficult assignment against the hungry and scrappy Celtics fighting to win without Tatum
The Celtics did not look hungry or scrappy at any point in Game 6. Towns had 21 points and 12 rebounds and he played with a fire that intimidated the Celtics. Brunson (23 points), Mikal Bridges (22 points) and Anunoby (23 points) punished Boston with sharp offensive play and dynamic defense for 48 minutes.
There was plenty of blame to spread around for the Celtics, but the biggest factors were poor 3-point shooting in Games 1 and 2 (Tatum), sloppy ball-handing that led to turnovers (Brown), poor end-of-game strategy (Mazzulla) and an inability to contain Brunson at key moments (Holiday).
The injuries to Tatum and Brown may make it difficult to mount another run in the 2025-26 season. The second-round loss to the Knicks may have key long-term ramifications.
