Jayson Tatum, Celtics set record for missed 3-pointers in Game 1 loss to Knicks: Takeaways

Celtics

Boston finished 15-for-60 from behind the arc, setting the NBA record for most 3-point misses in a postseason game with 45.

After an impressive series against the Magic, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown played one of their worst games in recent memory, and the Celtics dropped Game 1 against the Knicks 108-105 in overtime. 

Here are the takeaways. 

The Celtics shot historically poorly

One of the concerns for the Celtics in this series is that if they start missing 3-pointers, they crack the door open for a Knicks team that otherwise faces a nightmarish set of matchups.

On Monday, the Celtics missed a historic number of 3-pointers – they finished 15-for-60 from behind the arc, setting the NBA record for most 3-point misses in a postseason game with 45, and the Knicks overcame a 20-point second-half deficit aided by a Celtics team seemingly determined to shoot themselves out of Game 1.

Tatum was the primary offender – despite facing very promising mismatches against the likes Karl-Anthony Towns, Mitchell Robinson, and Jalen Brunson throughout the game, Tatum kept throwing triple after triple at the rim, especially in the second half as the Celtics looked to throw haymakers when simple jabs would have gotten the job done. He finished 4-for-15 from deep, and his misses seemed by far the most damaging – the majority could have been drives against players who throughout the course of the series will struggle to stay in front of him. 

Tatum wasn’t alone, however. Brown was 1-for-10, White was 5-for-16, Holiday was 2-for-7, and Horford was 1-for-5. The Celtics didn’t always generate good looks, which was a shame because they were nearly always able to generate good looks when they tried to do so.

If you’re looking for positives, absolutely nothing about Monday’s game suggests that the Celtics will struggle to create opportunities they want to create against the Knicks in this series. 

If you’re looking for negatives, don’t strain yourself too hard – the biggest one is that the Celtics were up 20 in the second half even without making 3-pointers, and by missing that many in the fourth quarter, they put themselves in a position nobody expected: Game 2 is now a must-win.

Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby were both big for the Knicks

Jalen Brunson hit some big shots in the fourth, which is what he’s known for doing, but he finished with 29 points on 9-for-23 shooting – a relatively pedestrian stat line – and he missed a game-winning layup attempt over the outstretched arms of Al Horford in regulation.

The bigger players for the Knicks on Monday may have been Anunoby and Bridges. 

Anunoby jump-started the Knicks’ run in the third quarter after the Celtics went up by 20 by making back-to-back 3-pointers that made the deficit a much more manageable 14, and he made several more big shots en route to 29 points on 10-for-20 shooting. 

Bridges, meanwhile, scored just eight points, but he played a staggering 51 minutes. In the closing seconds, he still had plenty of energy in the final minutes to outhustle the Celtics for a huge defensive rebound in the corner, and then he just ripped the ball out of Jaylen Brown’s hands on the final play of the game when the Celtics needed a three to tie in overtime. 

The last possession was a disaster

With the Celtics trailing by three in overtime, Josh Hart took a step-back 3-pointer and missed it badly. Derrick White pulled down the rebound, and the Celtics started their last possession of the game with 17 seconds left on the clock.

Somehow, in those 17 seconds, they never attempted a field goal. 

White brought the ball up with some pace, and Jrue Holiday screened him. White then dished to Tatum, who was 1-on-1 with Mikal Bridges. Tatum then attempted to attack Bridges while White waved at him, trying to set a screen to force Brunson into an unfavorable switch, but Tatum kept trying to attack Bridges, and Towns doubled off Brown. When Tatum tried to pass to Brown, Towns tipped it, and by the time Brown had the ball, just 5.3 seconds remained. Towns wisely fouled Brown (although he nearly did it as Brown attempted a 3-pointer), and the Celtics were left with just 3.0 seconds to draw up a game-tying shot attempt where the Knicks knew precisely what they needed, which led to Bridges’ game-tying steal. 

There were plenty of other ugly moments on Monday, but that possession was particularly stark given the time and score. The Celtics have the mismatches to simply execute their way to a series win, but Game 1 was not a great start.

Kristaps Porzingis went out with an illness

Porzingis played just 13 minutes on Monday and missed all four of his field-goal attempts, although he did grab four rebounds. The Knicks attacked him pretty successfully, and he went to the bench in the first half never to return, ultimately heading to the locker room with what the team said was an illness.

The Celtics have gotten used to playing without Porzingis, and both Al Horford and Luke Kornet are certainly up to the task, but a fully realized Porzingis is – of course – much preferable to the alternative. 

The only problem is that a fully realized Kristaps Porzingis is a lot more rare than one would hope. Porzingis’s postseason run thus far has been less than inspiring, and he seems to be losing some goodwill with Celtics fans.

Sam Hauser went out with a sprained ankle

Hauser, meanwhile, had perhaps the most disastrous individual Celtics possession of the game – not only did he foul Anunoby as he flew out to defend the Knicks forward on a 3-point attempt in the second half, he also sprained his ankle badly doing it and hobbled straight to the locker room, where he was ruled “questionable” to return, but it was hardly a surprise that he sat the rest of the game. 

The Celtics’ depth might take a hit going into Game 2. 

Game 2 is suddenly incredibly important

The Celtics now need a win on Wednesday to avoid going back to New York with a stunning 2-0 series deficit. Game 2 tips off at 7 p.m. The series shifts to New York on Saturday.