NEW YORK -- Everything you need to know about the Celtics' loss to the Knicks in Game 6 of their East semifinal series, with BSJ insight and analysis.
IN A NUTSHELL
The first half was a disaster. The Celtics couldn't hit a thing, Jaylen Brown had six of Boston’s 11 turnovers, leading to 14 Knicks points, and they got crushed on the boards. The game was actually tied at 16 with 2:31 to go in the first quarter, but Boston was outscored 48-21 over the next 14:31. It got no better in the third quarter, with Brown fouling out with a few minutes left and the Knicks pushing their lead past 40 and Mazzulla pulling his starters.
HEADLINES
- Disaster shooting night: The Celtics finished the night shooting 38%. For all of Brown’s turnover issues, he was also the only one scoring. The Celtics didn't get a second player into double digits until Al Horford’s 3-pointer with about five minutes left in the third quarter. The most Boston scored in a quarter was 24, and that was the garbage time fourth.
- It’s over: Once again, a defending champion gets bounced in the second round. The season began with a lot of talk of this team joining Bill Russell’s Celtics as repeat champions, but what looked to be a perfect second-round opponent became a disaster. The Celtics barely put up a fight in Game 6, getting destroyed for all but the first 10 minutes of the game.
TURNING POINT
Everything that happened after it was 16-16. New York closed the first quarter 10-4 and won the second quarter 38-17.
THINGS I LIKED
Literally nothing.
THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE
- Jaylen Brown: He scored 20, but he had seven turnovers and clearly tried to do too much. As good as he was in Game 5, he was mostly terrible in Game 6. The Knicks didn’t even need to play a particularly special defense on him. He just didn’t have the right mindset for this game.
- Supporting cast: The Celtics needed something from someone else, anyone else, and no one could deliver. Jrue Holiday was 1-8 from the field. Derrick White was 3-11. Luke Kornet was the opposite of what he was in Game 5. Al Horford managed to go 4-7, but it wasn’t nearly enough. The Celtics didn’t get what they needed from Brown, but they got less from the supporting cast.
- Rebounding: It felt like the Celtics gave up offensive rebounds on every miss. They missed Jayson Tatum in a lot of ways in this game, but it might be on the boards where they missed him the most. If they were able to clear some rebounds early on, this game might have gone differently.
- Turnovers: They gave up 20 points off 14 turnovers through three quarters. That Brown had half of those was really problematic. He got himself into trouble too often, falling back into an old habit that left him in the air or in spots with nowhere to go.
HIGHLIGHTS
Nah
TWO TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
- This might be worse than the 2023 loss to Miami.
The Celtics choked this series away. Game 6 was the only game where they didn’t have a big lead at some point. They flittered away Game 1 after leading by 20 … okay, fine. They got overconfident, went for too many kill shots, and they biffed it. No problem.
The bigger problem was Game 2 when they let the same thing happen. And then in Game 4, they had it in their grasp again and couldn't shut New York’s water off.
The Celtics could have swept the Knicks. Today’s story should have included Tatum practice interviews. My Picks ‘n Pops should have been riddled with complaints about having to go to Indiana for the millionth time. Instead, a team full of champions let the Knicks have life.
Give the Knicks credit for never quitting. They made the comebacks happen. But Boston could have stopped them at every turn and didn’t.
- They will regret this loss
I could already hear it in the voices of the guys who spoke after the game. There was a level of shock and disappointment that this team couldn't accomplish its goal.
“It sucks. You’ll never get this season back,” White said. “You’re never going to have the exact same team again. So obviously there were some highs and obviously some lows of the season, but at the moment it’s just kinda down.”
It’ll get worse over the years. When each of these guys retires, I’m betting they’ll look back on this season as a giant missed opportunity.
And it’s not even about not winning a championship. That's hard to do. But going out like this is something that should stick with these guys forever. I have zero problem with a team putting up a strong fight and losing to a team that has a better series. I have a big problem with losing winnable games and dropping a series to a team no one expected to win.
Next up: One of the most interesting offseasons in team history.