We probably should’ve always seen the Boston Celtics responding like champions in Saturday afternoon’s 115-93 road win over the New York Knicks.
There was simply very little possibility the Celtics wouldn’t play with tremendous focus and desperation after blowing two straight 20-plus-point leads at home to fall behind 0-2 in this second-round playoff series. As easy as it is to make fun of the Celtics and pick at their flaws (and it is, indeed, very easy), they were always going to come ready to deliver a haymaker. After seeing how road teams have thrived during this NBA postseason, it would’ve been naive to assert anything else.
The problem for the Knicks, who were (and probably still are) in the driver’s seat of this series, is that they didn’t seem prepared to match Boston’s energy. It was almost as if they were mentally satisfied stealing the first two games of this series on the road and, in response, let their foot off the gas a little. That is obviously problematic when you’re playing the reigning NBA champions.
Knicks star guard Jalen Brunson admitted this sentiment as much in his postgame interview. He noted that he thought the team was probably “subconsciously” not as locked in because they already had the Celtics’ backs against the wall.
Oof. That’s never something you want to hear in the middle of the second round of the playoffs:
If there is a bright side for Brunson, the Knicks also faced massive early deficits in both Game 1 and Game 2 in Boston. The difference between those games and Saturday was that the Knicks kept plugging away and gave themselves a chance to steal both wins late. This time around, it appeared as if New York accepted its fate and didn’t have the mental push to crawl back from the Celtics’ best punch.
The good news for Brunson and the Knicks is that they’ll have a chance to atone for their lackluster effort on Monday night. Winning and capturing a 3-1 series lead over the Celtics would feel pretty insurmountable. It would put the Knicks in a great position to advance to their first Eastern Conference Finals in over a quarter century.
But first, they have to come ready to meet the moment with the requisite high-level effort. On all counts.