Jaylen Brown addressed Boston’s Game 1 loss to the New York Knicks by acknowledging a breakdown in execution and a lack of poise after building a 20-point lead.
Speaking postgame at TD Garden, Brown said the Celtics will need to analyze the film to fully understand how the momentum shifted.
“I’m not sure,” Brown said when asked what led to the offensive decline after a strong start. “We’re going to take a look at the film tomorrow and see what kind of happened there.”
Boston’s offense unraveled after going up 75-55 midway through the third quarter, finishing the game with an NBA playoff-record 45 missed three-point attempts.
Brown acknowledged that the team strayed from attacking the paint and leaned too heavily on perimeter shooting late in the game.
“In those moments when other teams have momentum, we can’t just fire up threes,” Brown said. “To break up momentum, you got to get to the free-throw line, get to the paint, get to the basket… we just settled in the second half a lot.”
The All-Star forward was asked whether Boston’s shot selection reflected an effort to deliver a knockout punch rather than remain disciplined.
“Some of them felt good,” he said. “Some of them felt like we maybe forced the issue… definitely our rhythm and timing was a little bit off.”
Brown finished with 23 points but went 1-for-10 from deep, part of a collective 15-for-60 three-point performance by Boston.
When asked about the Knicks’ second-half surge, Brown pointed to shot-making and confidence shifting in New York’s favor.
“They hit some tough plays, hit some tough shots… Brunson made some tough, tough shots down the stretch,” Brown said.
On the final play of overtime, with Boston trailing by three and three seconds remaining, Brown said there was enough time for a clean look.
“Maybe [the timeout] could have been a little sooner,” he said. “But we had 3 seconds on the clock. Plenty enough to get a good look… just wasn’t able to get that.”
Despite the loss, Brown praised Jrue Holiday’s performance in his return, highlighting key rebounds and a timely three-pointer late in regulation.
“Jrue made plays, offensive rebound after offensive rebound that gave us a chance to get in the game,” Brown said.
Looking ahead, Brown emphasized the need for quick adjustments and composure heading into Game 2.
“You almost got to have a short-term memory, throw it away, and get ready for Game 2,” he said. “We don’t have time to let stuff carry over.”
He added that while the Knicks dared Boston to shoot, the Celtics need to be more selective and avoid settling for difficult looks.
“It felt like tonight they were kind of daring us to shoot,” Brown said. “We didn’t make them tonight… that’s an abnormal game for us in terms of shooting the basketball.”
Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals is scheduled for Wednesday night in Boston.
