Boston Celtics Crushed by New York Knicks: Five Reasons They Lost, Including Their Worst Shooting of the Season

They couldn't hit a shot
Jalen Brunson went off
The supporting cast disappeared
New York’s bench stepped up
The defense was not great
PLUS/MINUS

BOSTON — The Celtics had another tough day at the office, starting cold again but this time never being able to recover and make a comeback. They did get it close in the third quarter, but the Knicks ran away with it after that.

Box Score

Game Flow: The Celtics started cold again, falling behind by 11 thanks to 34.6% shooting in the first quarter and Jalen Brunson dropping 15. They cut it down to eight, with Derrick White making some buckets and Baylor Scheierman’s rebounding providing the fuel, and then, after a quick Knicks run, down to seven at the half. It got down to five midway through the third, but the Knicks whipped off a 15-3 run to take back control.The Celtics had a sniff of maybe changing the momentum in the fourth, but turnovers and missed shots let the Knicks pull away for good.

Here are five reasons why they lost

They couldn't hit a shot

Derrick White was the only player who could say he shot well, going 7-14 overall and 3-9 from three. Jaylen Brown was 11-25 and 0-4 from three. The Celtics shot just 17% from deep, which is a recipe for disaster.

“I think we created a bunch of open looks,” Brown said. “Just got to step in with confidence and knock them down. I think our offense, we did a good job creating advantages. Just got to make some shots we didn’t make today. It happens. They made shots, and I think that was the difference.”

Their previous low was 21.6%, and they're now 0-6 shooting below 27% on three-pointers.

They had a lot of shots go halfway down, and plenty of good looks that just missed. It speaks volumes that this team shot this poorly and still had it down to five halfway through the third.

The 0.947 points/possession is the lowest for the Celtics in a game Jaylen Brown or Derrick White played in since Dec. 18, 2022 vs. Orlando.
— Sean Grande (@SeanGrandePBP) February 8, 2026

Jalen Brunson went off

He had a 15-point first quarter, and he finished with 31 points on 12-21 shooting (4-8 3pt). He also had eight assists.

The supporting cast disappeared

Payton Pritchard, Neemias Queta, Luka Garza, and Baylor Scheierman (the three other starters next to Brown and White, plus the sixth man) scored a combined 26 points.

Pritchard was averaging almost 26 points per game himself in his return to the sixth man role. Nikola Vucevic was not really a factor.

“We got to figure out the chemistry a little bit, the flow a little bit,” Brown said after the game. “We want [Nikola Vucevic] to be a little bit more aggressive, looking for him to get going and make him feel confident in taking those shots and where he can catch the ball. I think he's still learning, but we need him to be aggressive. So we'll make adjustments, we'll communicate, we'll watch film, and we'll be better for it.”

New York’s bench stepped up

They got 12 from Jose Alvarado, who was a little bit of a game-changer across the board. Mohamed Diawara scored 10. There aren’t many scenarios where those guys can outscore Pritchard, and Boston come away with the win.

Everyone on the Knicks bench was a positive, led by Diawara’s +22. Everyone on Boston was a negative, led by Pritchard’s -27. Vucevic was -24.

The defense was not great

The Celtics kept allowing backdoor cuts, which was a big part of why Mikal Bridges was able to score 14 points.

"We didn't do a good job of handling those cutters,” Brown said. “I think Bridges got a bunch of easy layups on just cuts. We gotta make some adjustments on that. So we'll watch it and we'll make some adjustments."

PLUS/MINUS

Pluses

► Baylor Scheierman’s rebounding was fantastic. He grabbed 13 rebounds, which is easily a career-high.

“His rebounding outside of his area is a big one,” Joe Mazzulla said. “Whether he's boxing the guy out or whether he's on the perimeter, he comes back and crashes defensively and gets those, and so that helps us get out in transition, but I think he's playing at a great level for us defensively, and really on the rebounding piece on both ends.”

► Derrick White played well. If anything, I wanted him to take more than 14 shots on a day where no one else really had it going.

“I just try to read the game,” he said. “Maybe sometimes I should be more aggressive, maybe sometimes I shouldn't be, so I kind of just each game's a little different. Just try to make the right read, make the right pass. We’ve got a lot of faith and trust in all our guys, so just kind of trust the process and keep getting good looks and believe it’s going to fall.”

Minuses

► Nikola Vucevic had a rough night, shooting 5-13 overall and 1-6 from three. Like Brown said, now’s not the time to judge the trade. Guys might be looking for him too much, and he might be trying too hard to fit in. They need a little time to settle down.

► They couldn't really build any momentum. Early in the fourth, they got it down to 12, then turned it over twice and fouled a three-point shooter. In the third, after cutting it to five, they went 3:24 without scoring a point, falling behind by 13 again. Missed shots and missed opportunities cost them when they had chances to make big pushes.

► The bigs were in foul trouble all day long. The rotation is already a bit of a mess with the double-big lineups, but Queta especially was plagued by foul trouble.

Next Up: The Celtics face the Chicago Bulls in the last game before the All-Star break on Wednesday night.