During the 2024-25 regular season, the Celtics were a perfect 4-0 vs. the Knicks. Many analysts expected the same for the meeting between Boston and New York in the 2025 playoffs.
The Knicks were on the road Monday night for Game 1 vs. the Celtics. Boston built a 20-point lead in the second half, but cold shooting opened the door for New York to make a comeback. By the fourth quarter, the Knicks tied the game and forced OT. Boston lost 108-105 and New York stole Game 1. On Monday evening, the Celtics missed an NBA playoff record 45 three-pointers vs. the Knicks.
Will Boston change their offensive strategy for Game 2 vs. the Knicks?
The Celtics missed 45 threes tonight.
The most ever in a playoff game. pic.twitter.com/xOwBcvsDBR
— StatMuse (@statmuse) May 6, 2025
Taking and making a high volume of three-pointers has been vital to the Celtics’ success over the last two seasons. Boston won a championship in 2024 and averaged 40.2 three-pointers per game in the postseason run. They shot .360 percent from beyond the arc on those attempts from last postseason. The Celtics are a team that is willing to live and die from beyond the arc.
We saw that in Game 1 on Monday night vs. the Knicks. Boston took an NBA playoff record 60 three-pointers. However, they also missed an NBA playoff record 45 three-pointers vs. New York. After the game, Jaylen Brown spoke to the media about the shots Boston took in Game 1. He believed the team got several quality looks but were not able to capitalize. Brown said, “Our rhythm and our timing was a little bit off.”
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst noted that Boston took 45 “uncontested” three-pointers on Monday and missed 32 of them. Jaylen Brown was correct in his assessment of the team having quality looks. Brown was 1-10 from beyond the arc in Game 1. Jayson Tatum was 4-15, and Derrick White was 5-16 from deep. Jaylen Brown said in hindsight, the team should have driven the ball to the basket more. We’ll see if the Celtics change their game plan for Game 2 on Wednesday night.
