The three are the lifeblood of the Boston Celtics, and the team has used that tactic well this season. Because of their emphasis on the long ball, the Celtics won 61 games during the regular season and earned the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
However, what occurs if the Celtics’ 3-point shooting struggles? The group learned on Monday evening. The Celtics’ surprising Game 1 loss to the New York Knicks set an NBA playoff record with 45 missed 3-pointers. Up until the Knicks began to fight back, Boston had a 20-point lead.
How did the Celtics react to the Knicks’ run? Don’t stop making threes.
Karl-Anthony Towns describes the historic poor shooting
This time, the plan didn’t work. In the second half and overtime, Boston shot 10 for 37 from 3-point range, which helped the Knicks win 108-105.
The Celtics’ record-breaking night was the result of every player who pulled up from beyond the arc. The greatest way to describe the Celtics’ predicament, however, was by Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns:
“Some [missed] shots were lucky. They missed some threes I think we all know they make.”
Boston could have won Game 1 if they had had more success shooting beyond the arc. For the remainder of the series, the team will surely continue to shoot from three-point range, and it will be up to the Knicks to figure out how to stay competitive once those shots start to fall.
