The second-seeded Boston Celtics are writing various chapters in basketball lore during the Eastern Conference semifinals, but none of these stories are positive.
Two days after
squandering a 20-point advantage in a devastating defeat against the third-seeded New York Knicks
, regarding the Celtics, well, they do
squandered a 20-point advantage Wednesday in an embarrassing defeat against the New York Knicks
It was an echo that seemed unbelievable, right up until
Jayson Tatum’s final desperate move ended with Mikal Bridges making a crucial theft.
just like how Game 1 concluded.
Now the Celtics find themselves trailing 2-0 in a series where they had a total advantage of 40 points across two matches. It’s safe to assume that their championship from last year remains a comforting fact, enough to prevent critics from thoroughly tearing into them.
Just how poorly have the Celtics messed up this series? So much so that even the Cleveland Cavaliers look strong by comparison.
could show compassion towards them
.
To begin with, they are the inaugural team during the NBA’s play-by-play era to suffer losses in two separate games where they had a lead of at least 20 points within a single playoff season. Notice that this statistic does not include a “consecutive” condition.
None of the NBA teams have squandered two playoff series leads like these Celtics, and they accomplished this feat in back-to-back games.
Of course, misery enjoys having companions. For months, a Celtics-Cavaliers matchup in the Eastern Conference Finals had seemed almost inevitable. They were undoubtedly the top two teams in the East.
And now they’re both down 2-0 against lesser teams, with the top-seeded Cavaliers currently trailing the fourth-seeded Indiana Pacers. The NBA has never had teams with their records down like this in the second round, and they’re there together.
It’s not even like the Celtics had a tendency to blow leads this season. They lost a grand total of one game during the regular season after building a 20-point lead on their way to a 61-21 season.
And Bridges, in particular, deserves special recognition. Not only did he seal both wins over the Celtics with steals, he also scored 14 of the Knicks’ 30 points in the fourth quarter on Wednesday after entering the frame with zero points.
That marks a playoff career best for a single quarter.
When viewed broadly, however, the Celtics’ suffering aligns with a broader trend of this playoff season.
Boston’s defeat marked the fifth instance of a team coming back from at least a 20-point deficit during the 2025 NBA playoffs, setting a new benchmark for such comebacks even though the second round isn’t complete yet.
Those losses are:
Celtics-Knicks Game 2
(20 points)Pacers-Cavaliers Game 2
(20 points)Celtics-Knicks Game 1
(20 points)Pacers-Milwaukee Bucks Game 5
(20 points)Oklahoma City Thunder versus Memphis Grizzlies Game 3
(29 points)
Surprisingly, out of those five games, four involve either the Pacers (positively) or the Celtics (negatively).
There potentially could have been six of these as well, if only Aaron Gordon had.
just been a touch slower with a put-back Dunk in Game 3 against the Los Angeles Clippers
.
Even though several teams were initially considered heavy favorites to advance at least to the conference semifinals, this year’s playoffs have already seen an unprecedented number of comeback victories, including two decisive Game 7 matches. It leaves one eager to see what additional surprises lie ahead.
