Celtics 90-91 Knicks, find the biggest culprit

On May 8, 2025, the G2 leg of the NBA Playoff Eastern Conference Semi-Finals began, with the Boston Celtics playing against the New York Knicks at home. In the

G1 round, the Boston Celtics lost to the Knicks 105-108 at home. In this game, the Celtics led by 1 point in the first quarter and 16 points in the first half. They were eventually reversed by overtime, with a three-pointer in the game and 15 of 60 shots. They were crazy and the defending champion also lost their home advantage.

In this game, the Celtics adjusted the starter, White, Tatum, Brown, Holiday, and Horford made the starter. Porzingis sat on the bench. Knicks Bridges, Hart, Towns, Brunson, and Anunobi made the start, and they were still the regular starter five tigers.

First half: In the first quarter, the Celtics took advantage of their home court advantage and launched a crazy offense. After all, they had lost the first game. They can no longer be careless in this game. The Knicks were extremely sluggish in the quarter and were still very slow to warm up. They shot wildly, and Brunson and Bridges were almost in shape. The situation on the field was very passive, with few scores. 24-13, the Celtics established an 11-point lead. In the second quarter, the Knicks found an offensive feeling, Towns and Hart helped the team score consecutively, Jaylen Brown helped the Celtics respond, the game was quite stalemate, and at the end of the half, 50-41, the Celtics led by 9 points.

In the first half, both sides' shooting rates were quite low, especially the three-pointers of both sides, and the shooting rates were simply unbearable. As a well-known three-point team Celtics in the league, they never found a touch on the outside, and they lost it and won it! It is a blessing to lose your horse! Fortunately, the Celtics have a rebounding advantage. Even though the three-pointer was not opened, the defending champion took advantage of the inside advantage and still gained the lead.

Technical statistics of both sides in the first half.

The main statistics of Knicks players.

In the first half, the main statistics of Celtic players.

In the third quarter, the Knicks' score dropped sharply again. In nearly 8 minutes, they only scored 9 points. The offense was quite powered off. Brunson didn't take much action in the third quarter. Bridges's feel was still extremely poor. The Knicks' offense still has to rely on Hart and Towns to support it. Besides, Towns and Hart are not omnipotent! Celtics Brown and White continued to play, and the Celtics' lead expanded. Hart and McBride suddenly realized as if they were looking back, and the Knicks scored an 8-0 attack wave, narrowing the score difference. At the end of the third quarter, 73-61, the Celtics led by 12 points. In the blink of an eye, the Knicks were still quite resilient. In this quarter, the Knicks scored 20 points, and Hart scored 10 points alone. In the fourth quarter, Porzingis scored 2+1, and Bridges responded in time. The two sides formed a tug-of-war on the court, and the game was quite stalemate, which was quite beneficial to the Celtics. After all, the defending champion was the leading side, 84-70, leading by 14 points. Bridges scored 6 points in a row, narrowing the gap. White made a foul and made both free throws, Brunson hit a three-pointer, and it would be better if he broke out earlier. Hart made a mid-range throw, and the gap instantly became smaller. 86-82, the Celtics led by only 4 points. The Knicks attacked Towns and scored 2+1, and this game is interesting! The scores of both sides are so close that it seems that the game has just begun and everything returns to suspense. Brunson jumped over the score at a high jump shot, 87-86, the Knicks almost fell behind the entire game. The Celtics missed the offense and missed the continuous tip-in. Brunson scored a one-stop layup, almost sluggishing the whole game. It broke out at the last moment. Brunson was indeed a tough guy and had excellent psychological quality. Towns made a foul, Tatum made both free throws, 88-89, the Celtics were 1 point behind, Brunson made a single three-pointer, but he didn't play three-pointer. He just praised you, can't he play steadily? Why are you so anxious? The Celtics were left with 24 seconds of offensive time, and just completed an attack. The fans were thrilling in their hearts when they watched this game. Tatum had a one-handed tomahawk, 90-89, Brunson shouldn't be so anxious for the last three-pointer, and the fans were also reluctant to let it go! Brunson got the ball, Holiday made a foul, and made both free throws, 90-91, with 2 seconds left, Tatum got up and jumped, Robinson contributed an iron-blooded hat, Bridges got the rebound, and the game ended, the Knicks narrowly defeated the Celtics 91-90 away. This ups and downs, this magnificent game, this very interesting game, the defending champion fell behind 0-2 in the semi-finals, lost two consecutive home games, and was reversed two consecutive home games...

Tatum, started for 42 minutes, made 5 of 19 shots, including 1 of 5 three-pointers, 2 of 2 free throws, and scored 13 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 1 block. 3 mistakes, plus or negative value +3.

Jaylen Brown started for 41 minutes and made 8 of 23 shots, including 2 of 7 three-pointers and 2 of 4 free throws, scoring 20 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals. 6 mistakes, plus or negative value +3.

White started for 40 minutes and made 6 of 17 shots, including 3 of 11 three-pointers and 5 of 5 free throws, scoring 20 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks. 0 error, plus or negative value -2.

Holiday, starting for 33 minutes, made 4 of 6 shots, including 0 of 2 three-pointers and 2 of 3 free throws, scoring 10 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal. 4 mistakes, plus or negative value -1.

Horford started for 28 minutes and made 2 of 11 shots, including 0 of 5 three-pointers, scoring 4 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 1 block. 1 error, plus or negative value -11. The biggest custodian in this game, if you need to retire, you should retire with a decent amount!

Prichard played 21 minutes and made 3 of 9 shots, including 3 of 9 three-pointers, scoring 9 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist. 1 mistake, plus or negative value +1.

Connett played for 17 minutes, made 3 of 4 shots, scored 6 points, 8 rebounds and 1 block. 0 error, plus or negative value +11.

Porzingis played for 13 minutes and made 3 of 5 shots, including 1 of 1 three-pointer and 1 of 1 free throw, scoring 8 points and 4 rebounds. 1 error, plus or negative value -9.

Who could have thought of it? The Celtics lost two home games in a row, and the defending champion performed so poorly in the second round? Celtics fans are unhappy!