The Boston Celtics missed a chance to clinch the No. 2 seed Thursday, but they still control their own destiny.
The Boston Celtics had a chance to lock up the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed in the playoffs on Thursday night, and they let it slip away in the final minutes. After a 112-106 loss to the New York Knicks, the Celtics get another shot on Friday night against the New Orleans Pelicans. They need just one more win, or a New York loss, to clinch second place. Now, it’s not a guarantee that Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla would have wanted to rest his starters against the Pelicans ahead of the playoffs, but that surely won’t be the case now.
The loss wasn’t without some bright spots, as it did highlight Jayson Tatum’s return to Madison Square Garden where he tore his Achilles tendon against the Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals 11 months ago. Tatum posted 24 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists in a semi-emotional return. It just wasn’t enough. And now, though he looked healthy in Thursday’s loss, the plan was never to have Tatum play in both nights of back-to-backs. He did play the most minutes since his return from injury, putting up that 24-point total in 40 minutes.
Here is the full story from Celtics Roundtable writer Brady Farkas on the importance of the team’s penultimate matchup.
Boston will look to lock up the second seed with a win over New Orleans, who snapped an eight-game losing streak on Tuesday in a franchise-record 156-137 victory over the Utah Jazz. Rookie Jeremiah Fears set a Pelicans record with 40 points in the victory. But they’ll be without several stars, notably, Zion Williamson, Herb Jones and Saddiq Bey. That gives the Celtics an opportunity, should they value the ability to play at home in Game 7 against all teams but the top seeded Detroit Pistons.