Just about nothing went right for the Boston Celtics throughout their ugly 109-94 loss to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Monday night.
From the very get-go, the Celtics were far from their league-best form. They struggled to knock down shots from beyond the arc — typically one of their several strong suit — from the game’s opening buzzer. The Celtics connected on 2-of-19 3-pointers by halftime, a downward trend that never ended.
Boston’s cold hand never heated up, hitting just seven 3-pointers in the final two frames to finish 9-for-42. Four Celtics players came up empty on outside shot attempts while only three others managed to net more than one. But that, in and of itself, wasn’t all to blame for a second loss this season against the Knicks, according to Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla.
“I thought we missed a lot of good looks,” Mazzulla told reporters, as seen on NBC Sports Boston’s postgame coverage. “It put pressure on our defense. They do a good job of putting pressure in the paint and the free throws and so if you can’t make open shots, you constantly have to guard paint threat, paint threat, paint threat and they put a lot of pressure on our defense. But I just didn’t think it was our night.”
Mazzulla highlighted a few areas where the Celtics outperformed the Knicks, further emphasizing that failing to find the hot hand from 3-point range wasn’t his lone takeaway.
“I know we got more shots than they did,” Mazzulla said. “I know we got more offensive rebounds than they did. They beat us at the free-throw line. I don’t know what the adjustment would be if we get more shots, if we get more offensive rebounds and we just go 9-for-42 from three. Could do a better job of not fouling on the other end.
And Mazzulla wasn’t the only Celtic looking on the bright side afterward.
Al Horford, who finished with 13 points and two rebounds in 27 minutes, shared a similar sentiment. The 36-year-old views matchups where key contributors such as Jaylen Brown are sidelined as opportunities for others to showcase how they can rise to the occasion.
“I see this as a great opportunity because these are the games that I feel like we need to understand how we wanna play, who do we have out there and I feel like this is what this last stretch is all about,” Horford told reporters, as seen on NBC Sports Boston’s postgame coverage. “… I’m just glad that we have these opportunities. So we have to learn from this game.”
