The Boston Celtics fell down 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Knicks following a 91-90 loss in Game 2 at TD Garden on Wednesday. Game 2 was, in many ways, similar to Game 1, which the Knicks won 108-105 in overtime.
The Celtics led by as many as 20 points in the third quarter in both of those games, but squandered that advantage by falling apart in the fourth. The games basically ended thanks to spectacular plays on defense from Mikal Bridges, too, as he ripped the ball from Jaylen Brown in Game 1 and stole it from Jayson Tatum in Game 2.
The Knicks came into this series as massive underdogs, having been blown away by the Celtics in the regular season. They lost the season series 4-0 but are now in the driver’s seat in the Conference Semifinals after winning the first two games on the road.
The Celtics are now dangerously close to failing to defend their title, but Tatum, who had 13 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, three steals and one block in Game 2, remains optimistic about a comeback. The six-time All-Star sent a strong message in his recent press conference regarding the situation the Celtics find themselves in
A lot of us have been in so many different playoff situations and series,” Tatum said, via Justin Turpin. “It’s not like it’s our first time. Sometimes we can lean on that experience. We’ve been in situations like this before where we’ve had to get ourselves out of a hole, and we figured it out. So you can’t look too far ahead. We’ve got one game on Saturday, and that’s the most important thing because it’s the next game.”
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