The defending champions have officially put themselves on the ropes.
The Boston Celtics once again crumbled down the stretch during Wednesday’s Game 2 against the New York Knicks in their second-round playoff series. In front of their home crowd at TD Garden in Boston, Mass., the Celtics led by 20 points towards the tail end of the third quarter.
But the Knicks were able to trim the lead down to 12 points by the end of the period and then hit the Celtics with a haymaker in the fourth quarter. The Knicks outscored the Celtics 30-17 in the final frame as the latter went over eight full minutes without a made field goal (missing 14 shots in a row at one point).
Two free throws by Jalen Brunson with 12.7 seconds remaining gave the Knicks a 91-90 advantage, and Mikal Bridges once again came up strong defensively to stifle Celtics star Jayson Tatum as time expired.
That script should already look plenty familiar. During Game 1 of the series, the Celtics also blew a 20-point lead in the second half on their home floor and went on to lose in overtime to the Knicks 108-105.
In the midst of Boston’s latest meltdown, this one now putting them 0-2 in the series before they have even played a single game on the road, the Internet became an all-you-can-eat-buffet of memes roasting the defending champs. Check out a sampling below.
The Celtics shot just 34/94 (36.2 percent) from the field in Game 2, including a miserable 10/40 (25.0 percent) from deep. Meanwhile, Jrue Holiday, who only attempted six shots, was the only Boston starter who managed to shoot even 40 percent from the floor.
Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla was also criticized for his late-game execution, especially his failure to call a timeout on the final offensive possession in order to draw up the right play. Needless to say, the Celtics have a lot to figure during this wild NBA postseason in which a home team still hasn’t won a single second-round playoff game.
