The Boston Celtics blew a 25-point lead to the New York Knicks Thursday night and fell to 18-21 on the season, as Boston keeps finding way after way to lose.
The Celtics were in complete control of the game throughout the majority of the first half. A balanced offense in the first half through Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Dennis Schroder helped propel the Celtics to a 16-point halftime lead.
The second half couldn’t have been worse for Boston.
Their once huge lead was constantly being chipped at and Tatum was the only player making plays on the offensive end for the Celtics. Tatum finished with an incredible stat line of 36 points, six rebounds, and nine assists but it ultimately wasn’t enough to put the Celtics over.
Boston went cold in the fourth quarter yet again and Tatum was a one-man show. He scored 13 of the final 15 points for the Celtics including a sweet pull-up midrange jumper with 1.5 seconds remaining to tie the game at 105.
The Knicks had time to get off one final shot and R.J. Barrett threw up a prayer with Tatum draped all over him and banked it in for the win at the buzzer.
Ex-Celtic Evan Fournier was the main reason for the Knicks making their second-half push. He finished with 41 points on a blistering 10-for-14 from three-point land. He knocked down big shot after big shot and Boston had no answer for him.
Fournier is averaging just 11.7 points per game this season but in three games against Boston, he is averaging 35 points per game.
The Celtics will get another shot at the Knicks in Boston in their final meeting of the season on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
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