The Celtics should be encouraged by their historic Game 1 loss to the Knicks

It can be a little reductive during the NBA playoffs to look at a box score after a game, see which team shot better from 3-point range and definitively state that’s why a certain team won the game.

It can be a little reductive during the NBA playoffs to look at a box score after a game, see which team shot better from 3-point range and definitively state that’s why a certain team won the game.

And yet ... it’s really hard to identify a better reason the Boston Celtics find themselves in an 0-1 hole to the New York Knicks in the second round. (Especially after the same Celtics went 4-0 against the Knicks in the regular season, with an average margin of victory of 16.3 points.)

That’s because Boston didn’t just have a bad shooting night in its 108-105 overtime loss to New York in Game 1. The Celtics had a historically bad shooting night, missing a playoff record 45 3s.

Do the Knicks deserve credit for their attentive and aggressive defense? Of course. They also deserve applause for their mental toughness to come back from a 20-point deficit in the second half, as well as for their impressive shot-making in a tight game.

But Boston certainly doesn’t need to panic after an off shooting night. If anything, the Celtics arguably should be encouraged that they lost by only three points despite shooting 15-of-60 from 3 and 35.1% from the field overall.