NEW YORK — The Celtics did not look like a team that was going to go down without a fight in New York after an inspiring Game 5 win on Wednesday night. That changed in a hurry Friday as the team missing All-Star Jayson Tatum entered hostile territory at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks ran up their biggest win in franchise playoff history in Game 6, putting together a 118-81 rout that featured garbage time for virtually the entire second half.
Boston’s offense (outside of Jaylen Brown) and defensive rebounding was a virtual no show in defeat in what was a stunning result for a team playing with their season on the line. The defending champions went out with a whimper as they headed into an offseason of uncertainty.
Boston was well on their way to a stunning upset loss to the Knicks even before Tatum went down in Game 4 after blowing two 20-point leads at home, followed by a 14-point comeback by the Knicks in Game 4. Joe Mazzulla widely glossed over those issues after the series defeat.
“To me, it’s not about our guys,” Mazzulla said. “They did everything they could. You’ve got to tip your hats off to the Knicks. They played a great series. They’ve been great all year. Thibs is a great coach. So you’ve got to tip your hat off to them.”
Crediting the Knicks is one thing and certainly is a classy gesture by Mazzulla. However, Mazzulla also did not acknowledge the gravity of Boston’s collapses in the series. He acknowledged fatigue being a factor in Game 6’s blowout but the fact remains that Boston outplayed New York for the majority of this series yet still loss in six games.
“I mean, I thought just the Knicks made huge momentum plays in those games to take advantage of that and keep them and be able to bring themselves back into the games,” Mazzulla said of the blown big leads. “All those things that you talk about, end of quarters, start of quarters, momentum plays, offensive rebounds, they made all those plays. Those are the things that regardless of if you work on them one day, two days, two years, three years, they are stuff that you’ve got to retool every single day. Those are the habits that impact games.”
With major offseason changes on the horizon due to a looming financial crunch, it’s evident that the Celtics will look far different next year under Mazzulla. Instead of lamenting the missed opportunity this postseason, the Celtics coach opted to praise this group despite an underwhelming conclusion.
“We set a goal out. We didn’t achieve that goal, but that shouldn’t take away, for me, from the mindset and effort that the players put in,” Mazzulla said. “So we have a responsibility and ownership. We didn’t do it, but the approach, the process to it, you can’t ask for any more from the guys. So I thought they gave everything they had throughout the season.
“Obviously, we didn’t achieve that, but you can’t take away from what they did. This is the price you pay for trying to go after something, and that’s how it goes. But really just thankful to the guys for who they are as people and what they’ve done as players, and what they’ve done as a team.”
