The Celtics are reeling on Thursday morning as the reigning NBA Champions find themselves down 0-2 to the New York Knicks. Not only has Boston lost back-to-back games, but they’ve made the worst kind of history in the process.
The Celtics made history on Wednesday night in the worst possible way
Not a great way to make history.
Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
In Game 1 the Celtics were up by a score of 75-55 with 5:47 left in the third quarter. It seemed like they were going to cruise to a Game 1 win on the back of its two biggest stars, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown — each of whom scored 23 points. Then Jalen Brunson scored 16 points in the second half, backup up by a big performance from OG Anunoby to take the game to overtime and win.
Surely it had to be a fluke. A lapse in concentration to let the Knicks back in.. Then it happened again. On Wednesday the Celtics were up by a score of 70-50, this time with 4:05 left in the third quarter — almost the same time as their Game 1 collapse. This time it was Mikal Bridges who went off, scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter and leading the Knicks to a 91-90 win.
If the Celtics want any hopes of trying to repeat as champions they need to cut this out. It’s especially bad with the team losing back-to-back at home, now needing to try and salvage the series in Madison Square Garden. That’s easier said than done, and if Boston isn’t feeding off their home crowd while up by 20, it’s hard to imagine how they’ll fare in a hostil environment in NYC.
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