Brotherhood Playoff Watch: New York Takes A 1-0 Lead Over Jayson Tatum And Boston

What a strange game for the Celtics

Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics had a somewhat bizarre opening game in their series against the New York Knicks. How bizarre? Try this:

• They lost a 20 point third quarter lead.
• Kristaps Porzingis left early with an illness.
• The Celtics shot 15-60 from three point range (missing 45 threes should tell you to try something else).

As we saw in the Boston-Orlando series, in Game 1 New York played the Celtics very physically, leading Tatum to say this when he was asked whether the physical defense kept him from getting to the basket:

“No, it isn’t connected at all. It’s the playoffs. We probably should just play without the refs; that’s how physical it is. So no, that doesn’t really cross my mind.”

Jaylen Brown concurred, saying that Boston would have to drive more.

On the bright side for Boston, despite everything that went against them in Game 1, it took all New York had to win when the Celtics were awful.

• Celtics-Knicks recap: C’s blow 20-point lead, drop Game 1 in OT
• Knicks stun Celtics after overcoming 20-point deficit to steal Game 1 of East semis in overtime
• “Probably Should Just Play Without The Refs”: Jayson Tatum After Game 1 Loss Against Knicks
• Why Kristaps Porzingis exited Celtics’ Game 1 loss to Knicks
• Celtics Make Historic Jayson Tatum Announcement Before Knicks Game