Joe Mazzulla Defends Shot Selection After Celtics Miss Record Number of Threes

Boston scratched its collective head after letting Game 1 slip away.

Joe Mazzulla watches Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals from the sidelines. / David Butler II-Imagn Images

The Boston Celtics introduced the three-pointer to the NBA in the 1980 season—and on Monday night, it betrayed them.

The Celtics set an ignominious record in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Knicks when they missed 45 three-pointers—75% of the 60 they attempted. That beat the all-time playoff record of 40 three-point misses set by the Minnesota Timberwolves against the Los Angeles Lakers last Wednesday.

Amid this backdrop, Boston frittered away a 20-point lead and lost 108–105 in overtime. After the game, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla defended his team's shot selection.

"Yeah, I think for the most part over the course of the game, you always can find 5-10 shots that you want to be better at, but I thought throughout the night for the most part we fought for good looks," Mazzulla said when asked whether he was satisfied with Boston's shot diet.

The Celtics took just one two-pointer in the third quarter, a record-tying low for the 29-year-old play-by-play era.

Celtics took one 2-pt attempt in the 3rd quarter, tying for the fewest 2s in any quarter in regular season or playoffs in play-by-play era (since 1996-97). Mavs also had 1 vs Spurs in 2nd quarter on 4/13/2016

— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) May 6, 2025

Whether Boston takes twos, threes or fours in Game 2, it will need more of them to fall to stay competitive.

---

More NBA Playoffs on Sports Illustrated

feed