Basketball can be a cruel, beautiful mess. Honestly, if you watched the first half of the Celtics Knicks Game 1 back in May 2025, you probably thought the series was already over. Boston looked like the juggernaut everyone expected, cruising with a 20-point lead in the third quarter. Then, the wheels didn't just fall off; they disintegrated.
New York fought back. It was gritty, ugly, and perfectly "Knick-like." By the time the final buzzer echoed through TD Garden after an overtime thriller, the scoreboard read 108-105 in favor of the visitors.
The Night the Threes Stopped Falling
Boston lives and dies by the arc. We know this. But in this specific Celtics Knicks Game 1, they died a thousand deaths from deep. They missed 45 three-pointers. That isn't just a bad shooting night; it's an NBA playoff record for futility.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown both finished with 23 points, but the efficiency was a nightmare. Brown, usually so composed, went 1-for-10 from three. When the game was on the line in overtime, Mikal Bridges—New York’s defensive ace—straight up ripped the ball from Brown’s hands with one second left. Game over.
The Knicks didn't just win; they stole Boston's soul for a night.
Why the 20-Point Lead Evaporated
You can't talk about this game without mentioning the "Nova Knicks" connection. Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby were relentless. They both dropped 29 points, but it was how they did it that stung.
- Jalen Brunson's Fourth Quarter: He was quiet early, then suddenly decided he couldn't miss. He scored 11 in the fourth, hitting step-backs that felt like daggers to the heart of the Boston faithful.
- OG Anunoby's Two-Way Masterclass: He hit six threes of his own and anchored a defense that held Boston to a miserable 35.2% from the field.
- The Porzingis Factor: Kristaps Porzingis played only 13 minutes. He left before halftime with an "illness" and never came back. Without his rim protection and spacing, the Celtics looked lost.
Is Boston's Strategy Broken?
People love to complain about Joe Mazzulla’s coaching. "They shoot too many threes," is the common refrain. In this game, it was actually true. Of the 49 shots the Celtics took in the second half and overtime, 37 were three-pointers.
They made 10 of them.
Basically, the Celtics stopped attacking the paint. They stopped moving the ball. They got bored with the lead and started hunting highlights instead of buckets. Karl-Anthony Towns, despite being in foul trouble most of the night, still managed to grab 13 rebounds and provide enough of a presence to make Boston think twice about driving late.
The Knicks, meanwhile, were just tougher. Josh Hart played 45 minutes because of course he did. Mikal Bridges played 51 out of a possible 53 minutes. Tom Thibodeau doesn't believe in rest, and in Game 1, that obsession with conditioning paid off. The Knicks looked fresh in OT; the Celtics looked gassed.
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The Historical Context You're Missing
This rivalry is ancient, dating back to 1946, but this 2025 meeting felt different. The Knicks hadn't beaten Boston all regular season (0-4). To come into the Garden and erase a 20-point deficit against the defending champs? That’s the kind of win that changes a franchise's trajectory.
It’s worth noting that even though the Celtics are historically the "better" team with more banners, the Knicks have a weird habit of making them sweat in the playoffs. Think back to the physical battles of the 90s. This had that same energy—lots of floor burns, a few uncalled shoves, and a lot of trash talk.
What This Means for Your Future Bets
If you're looking at matchups between these two moving forward, ignore the regular season. The Knicks are built for the postseason grind. They hunt offensive rebounds and force turnovers.
If you see Boston starting to settle for contested "hero-ball" threes when they're up by double digits, that's your cue. The "math" says those shots should eventually fall, but as we saw in Game 1, sometimes the math fails and the grit wins.
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Watch the injury reports for Kristaps Porzingis specifically. When he's out, the Celtics lose their identity as a five-out offense and become a much easier team to guard. New York knows this. They exploited it perfectly.
Moving forward, keep an eye on the turnover battle. Boston lost this game because of a late steal, and New York wins games by being the more opportunistic team. If the Celtics can't value the ball, no amount of three-point volume will save them.
To better understand how these teams match up, you should watch the replay of the fourth-quarter run by New York, specifically focusing on how OG Anunoby switched onto Jayson Tatum to disrupt the Celtics' primary initiation. Pay attention to the spacing—or lack thereof—when Al Horford is the lone big on the floor compared to when Porzingis is healthy.