Down 2-0, the Celtics head to New York with more questions than answers

Whereas in the midst of a hunch in December and January, during which the Boston Celtics misplaced almost as many video games as they gained, they urged persistence. 

This was simply the doldrums of a protracted season. The hangover of a championship. A blip. 

“I consider we’ll peak on the proper second,” Kristaps Porziņģis stated Jan. 23 earlier than the Celtics closed their season by successful 19 of their remaining 22 video games, reassuring their doubters that they know methods to flip it on when it counts. 

However after the Celtics blew their second straight 20-point result in the New York Knicks to lose Game 2 of their second-round playoff collection on Wednesday, 91-90, it is time to surprise if the Celtics’ points have been extra pronounced than they presumed. 

The Celtics’ collapse in Recreation 2 was not simply deja vu of Recreation 1, after they blew a 20-point result in fall to the Knicks in time beyond regulation, 108-105; it was symbolic of an even bigger drawback. 

The Celtics are squandering huge benefits and collapsing in crunch-time conditions, a problem that might be comprehensible for a younger staff – not a pair of superstars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who’ve performed collectively for eight years, making the playoffs in every of these seasons, and successful the championship final yr. 

Actually, this was repeated psychological lapses, a significant drawback for a staff that is aware of the margin for error within the postseason is extremely slim. Final postseason, they by no means trailed a collection and by no means misplaced multiple sport en path to a 16-3 breezy title-winning run.

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