The New York Knicks shocked the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, pulling out a gritty and gutsy win in overtime, 108-105.
In a game that saw both teams make uncharacteristic mistakes, such as the Knicks shooting 54.8% from the free-throw line and the Celtics missing a playoff record 45 three-pointers, both teams will be looking at themselves in the mirror and working to fix things up in preparation for Game 2 and beyond.
Boston, however, will be hoping to receive some reinforcements. Forward Sam Hauser left the game with an ankle injury and did not return. Kristaps Porzingis, one of their most important role players, was able to muster 13 minutes of action before also leaving the game with an illness.
The absence of Porzingis was glaring for a Celtics team that relies so heavily on the three-point shot. He is vital to their offense with his ability to knock down long-range jumpers and screen setting for the other marksmen on the squad. Once he was gone from the game, you could see Boston was a bit out of sorts.
After the game, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla was asked about Porzingis' status.
"Yeah, I haven't seen him yet. We'll check on him. But, I mean, obviously it impacts the game with his ability to look forward. You know, it obviously changes sub-patterns, it changes the things that we were able to do match-up-wise, and play call-frequency wise, so yeah, I mean, I think we felt, but, you know, it's no excuse. We had plenty of opportunities to do it. Hopefully you're ready for game two."
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Mazzulla, never one to give too much in post-game press conferences, was fairly honest about what the C's were missing without their starting big man. The offense, dating back to the regular season in games played without Porzingis, just does not look the same.
It remains to be seen if Porzingis will be back for Game 2 Wednesday night, but if he isn't going to be available, Boston will need to adjust accordingly to make sure their three-point performance is up to their standard, because they will need to shoot better than 25% if they want to win this series.
MORE CELTICS NEWS:
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