The Boston Celtics aren't going to panic after losing Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series versus the New York Knicks on Monday night.
The Celtics missed an NBA playoff record 45 3-point shots and made some uncharacteristic mistakes late in the fourth quarter and overtime. Despite all of that, the Knicks barely escaped TD Garden with a 108-105 overtime victory.
The Celtics know that an 0-2 deficit would make their job a lot tougher. So we should expect a strong level of urgency from this group ahead of Wednesday night's Game 2 in Boston.
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SIGN UP HERE "It's really like a must-win game," Celtics guard Payton Pritchard told reporters after shootaround. "We know that. We got to take care of home court tonight.
"I think we'll come out with a lot of energy and stuff like that, especially after watching the Pacers-Cleveland game. It's a full 48-minute fight tonight. We let off the throttle in the last game up 20, let that one slip, so we can't let stuff like that happen."
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Much of the postgame talk and analysis from Game 1 centered around Boston's lackluster outside shooting.
The Celtics attempted a playoff-record 60 3-pointers in the series opener. Many of their misses were on open shots that they typically knock down. It's one reason why the C's are in no hurry to change the style of play that's been so successful for them.
"I think looking back at the film, a majority of the 3s were actually good looks," Pritchard said. "Now, I think each one of us could have had one or two shots that we're probably like -- probably could have got a better one.
"We're a great 3-point-shooting team, but I think it's understanding at the moment that if we've missed consecutive ones in a row, then at that moment, maybe then we need to try to get to the paint, try to get an easy one going. Obviously, we went through the film, so we'll be better at that, but it's not changing our -- we're not gonna hesitate and try to change our whole game.
"It's one game, and this game (Wednesday) could be totally different. We could go 50 percent from 3 and we hit 30 3-pointers -- we're capable of doing something like that. You can't ride the waves. You've got to stay even keel through it all."
The Celtics have a 16-4 record all-time in Game 2s at home in the conference semifinals, and they haven't lost back-to-back playoff games since the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals.
Most of the stats/trends point to a Celtics bounce back Wednesday night. But the Knicks aren't just going to roll over. They are a confident team, and the chance to steal both games in Boston should give them plenty of energy early in this matchup.
Tip-off for Game 2 is set for 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday at TD Garden, with NBC Sports Boston's coverage beginning at 6 p.m. ET with Celtics Pregame Live.