Down 2-0, the Celtics head to New York with extra questions than solutions

Melissa Rohlin

FOX Sports activities NBA Author

Whereas in the course of a droop in December and January, by which the Boston Celtics misplaced almost as many video games as they gained, they urged persistence.

This was simply the doldrums of a protracted season. The hangover of a championship. A blip.

“I imagine we’ll peak on the proper second,” Kristaps Porziņģis mentioned Jan. 23 earlier than the Celtics closed their season by profitable 19 of their remaining 22 video games, reassuring their doubters that they know the way to flip it on when it counts.

However after the Celtics blew their second straight 20-point result in the New York Knicks to lose Sport 2 of their second-round playoff sequence on Wednesday, 91-90, it is time to surprise if the Celtics’ points have been extra pronounced than they presumed.

The Celtics’ collapse in Sport 2 was not simply deja vu of Sport 1, after they blew a 20-point result in fall to the Knicks in additional time, 108-105; it was symbolic of a much bigger drawback.

The Celtics are squandering huge benefits and collapsing in crunch-time conditions, a difficulty that will be comprehensible for a younger staff – not a pair of superstars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who’ve performed collectively for eight years, making the playoffs in every of these seasons, and profitable the championship final 12 months.

Actually, this was repeated psychological lapses, a significant drawback for a staff that is aware of the margin for error within the postseason is extremely slim. Final postseason, they by no means trailed a sequence and by no means misplaced a couple of sport en path to a 16-3 breezy title-winning run.

So, why does this maintain taking place?

“I am unsure,” mentioned Brown, who had 20 factors, six rebounds and 6 turnovers. “We have gotten to nice begins. We guarded, we performed bodily, with power right now. To start out the fourth quarter, I believed we obtained like 4 or 5 nice appears that did not go in, so perhaps that affected us. However what’s achieved is completed. Now we have a chance to see what we’re made from.”

The problem for the Celtics on this sequence has been the fourth quarter. In Video games 1 and a couple of, they shot a mixed 9-for-45 (20 p.c) from the sector and 4-for-24 (16.7) from past the arc within the remaining 12 minutes.

On Wednesday, Brown went scoreless within the fourth quarter, whereas Tatum was 1-for-5 from the sector.

In the meantime, the Knicks noticed that the Celtics hit a wall and so they capitalized on it. Mikal Bridges scored all 14 of his factors within the remaining quarter. He additionally made the game-sealing steal in opposition to Tatum within the remaining seconds with the Knicks up, 91-90, stopping the Celtics from firing a doubtlessly game-winning shot.

Jalen Brunson, who gained the Clutch Participant of the Yr award, confirmed why he was deserving of that honor, scoring all six of the Knicks’ factors within the remaining 2 minutes.

Now, the Knicks are two wins away from their first convention finals look since 2000.

And the reigning champions are on the ropes, staring down an 0-2 gap with Video games 3 and 4 in New York.

Melissa Rohlin is an NBA author for FOX Sports activities. She beforehand coated the league for Sports activities Illustrated, the Los Angeles Instances, the Bay Space Information Group and the San Antonio Categorical-Information. Comply with her on Twitter @melissarohlin.

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