Knicks 108, Celtics 105 (OT)

 

The Celtics had a twenty-point lead, 75-55, in the third quarter and it looked like the game, if not the series, was going to go Boston's way. It looked easy. Then the shit started. The three-point shots turned into bricks, but instead of adjusting by driving inside and getting layups and making twos, the Celtics started heaving ever-more desperate three-point shots. The Knicks came back from their 20-point deficit and tied the game, found their confidence, and then won in OT with some tenacious D.

This hurts, not gonna lie. Down 0-1 to start the conference semifinals, and loss of home-court advantage. But the Celtics have battled back from adversity before, from situations worse than this, and won in the past. The question is whether they learn from tonight and adjust their game, or keep chucking desperation shots and hope for the best. If the former, we win. If the latter, well, we're not gonna talk about that, okay?

Game 2 is Wednesday night (7:00 pm). I don't think many people outside of the New York metropolitan area (and color commentator Reggie Miller) think the Celtics are going to go 0-2 at home. If they focus on winning Game 2 and not think ahead about how to win in MSG later in this series, we should be back to 1-1 with five games left to go. 

The 28-game playoff system allows a team up to 12 losses. The Celtics have used two. Let's keep it there for a while.