After missing some time in the first round, the reigning champions got their point guard back.
In Game 1 of the second round, the Boston Celtics fell to the New York Knicks in one of the most shocking games of the postseason thus far. After holding a 20-point lead in the second half, the Celtics allowed the Knicks to stick around and eventually win in overtime.
Although the Celtics fell down 1-0 in the best-of-seven series, not everything was bad for Boston. On Monday night, Celtics point guard Jrue Holiday saw his first minutes since Game 2 against the Orlando Magic.
Holiday had missed the final three games of the first round with a hamstring injury. While the Celtics were still able to get it done in the first round, they will need their point guard to be fully healthy moving forward, so his comments after the game were something Boston fans needed to hear.
“It felt good,” Holiday said. “No issues, it felt pretty fresh. It was good to be back out there.”
Despite the loss, Holiday had a solid performance in his return. He scored 16 points and added six rebounds, three assists and a steal.
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While Holiday’s overall performance was solid, the Celtics could use some more out of him as this series continues. The two-time All-Star shot just 2-of-7 from beyond the arc as the Celtics went 15-of-60 from 3-point range to set the playoff record for most missed threes in a game.
Although the Celtics were on the wrong side of history on Monday night, it was still an encouraging sign to see Holiday back on the floor and playing at a high level. The Celtics would love to have Game 1 back, but with Holiday back in action, they should be able to get back into the series without a problem.
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