Callahan: Celtics’ collapse in Game 1 was self-inflicted

Knicks forward Mikal Bridges ripped the ball away in the final seconds and flung it skyward a soaring exclamation point on a puzzling night at the Garden No question was bigger than this how the hell did that just happen The Celtics collapsed into a - puddle Monday night opening an Eastern Conference semifinal series bulk comfortably predicted they would seal in five games with a - deficit After all the Celtics had cruised to a - regular-season sweep of the Knicks who had struggled with a determined but young and flawed Pistons company last round Then the Celtics led by midway through the third quarter No Kristaps Porzingis no Sam Hauser no problems whatsoever Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown took turns poking the permanent holes in New York s defense hitting the same shots and notes from past matchups Then in almost every moment before Bridges stole the ball from Brown the Celtics gave that tournament away They set the record for majority of missed -pointers in a playoff championship before they reached overtime and continued to chuck even when it was clear neither Tatum nor Brown had their shooting touch They combined to go -of- from -point range Tatum played like he had burned his fingertips during a timeout Still he kept firing step-back after step-back Clang clang clang The Celtics laid enough bricks to build a bridge down to Madison Square Garden where they must now win at least one contest if they want to take this series back They have invited calamity to their doorstep and calamity walked right on through Monday Because all along the Knicks have had a meager narrow paths to make the series enthralling let alone steal a couple games No out-shoot the Celtics as the lesser-shooting club That long shot hit Monday despite a terrible contest from Karl Anthony-Towns the self-appointed best-shooting big man in NBA history Towns has a history of mind-boggling fouls in the playoffs and picked up three fouls in minutes Monday night He finished with points No win the possession challenge Pile up offensive rebounds and force turnovers to generate extra shots That missed because while Knicks center Mitchell Robinson is a monster on the glass he s also a monster at the foul line The Celtics hacked at Robinson in the second quarter and his -of- foul shooting became so painful his own coach urged him to intentionally foul in the second quarter so the Knicks could sub him out That definitely happened No pray for favorable injury luck Porzingis didn t play in the second half due to illness which may have contributed to another ice-cold start Porzingis might return he might not and it may not have mattered were it not for Monday s upset Now of lesson it does So here the Celtics are trailing - to a Knicks band that has been lesser than the sum of its parts all season This is a rare Tom Thibodeau-coached crew that doesn t resemble the barking sweating defensive coach prowling on the sidelines The Knicks are not soft but any fear of them does not stem from the cold hard reality of their roster Because in assembling a squad built to beat the Celtics last summer shipping out a boatload of picks for Bridges and acquiring Towns in a tectonic shift for the franchise the Knicks left themselves more vulnerable to Boston than expected Unless Towns and Brunson are off the floor sapping bulk of their offensive firepower the mismatch-minded Celtics will invariably have defensive scab to pick at And they wasted no time in Competition The Celtics played Towns off the floor within six minutes Towns hit the bench with Josh Hart one of the Knicks iron men who bent against a fiery Tatum start that included points in the first quarter Towns picked up his third foul just moments into the second quarter thanks to a Jaylen Brown drive Brown then took aim at Brunson cashing in for a layup two foul shots and a mid-range jumper all at the point guard s expense The Celtics cruised to a -point halftime lead The Knicks took multiple leads the fourth quarter riding an - run fueled by bad Celtics shooting and choices Brown went ice cold Tatum even colder and the bench was dry No one changed subject The Celtics fired again and again from deep with shots that felt less like a plan and increasingly like hope Meanwhile Brunson charged the Knicks back to a lead and Bridges defended it down to the bitter end in a finish no one could have expected Now the Celtics sit a mess of their own making with less than two days before Competition and a chance to wipe it away