BOSTON — Heading into Sunday afternoon, the Boston Celtics had played eight games on the same day that the New England Patriots appeared in the Super Bowl. They were 7-1 in those games. The only loss? In 2015.
That night, the Patriots beat the Seattle Seahawks.
HOW CELTICS HAVE FARED ON DAYS OF PATRIOT SUPER BOWL APPEARANCES (7-1)
1986: 76ers, W 105-103
2002: Clippers, W 104-91
2005: T-Wolves, W 103-100
2012: Grizzlies, W 98-80
2015: Heat, L 83-75
2017: Clippers, W 107-102
2018: Trail Blazers, W 97-96
2019: Thunder, W 134-129
— Dick Lipe (@DickLipe) February 8, 2026
So, if there’s any positive to take away from the Celtics’ ugly 111-89 loss to the New York Knicks on this year’s Super Bowl Sunday, it’s that they may have unintentionally rejuvinated that same trend from over a decade ago.
Other than that… brutal.
On Friday against the Miami Heat, the Celtics shot 1-of-20 from three-point range. On Sunday afternoon, they followed that showing up with a 7-of-41 performance from deep range.
But what made the inefficiency truly frustrating was the fact that Boston generated a ton of good looks.
“I think it was that. I think we created a bunch of open looks. We just got to step in with confidence and knock them down,” said Jaylen Brown. “I think on offense, we did a good job [of] creating advantages. We just got to make some shots we didn’t make today. Happens. They made shots, and I think that was the difference.”
It’s easy to complain about a set of stats on a piece of paper, and the Celtics weren’t perfect. But when shots like this…
…and this don’t go down, the rough night makes a bit more sense.
“You play against a great team like them, and you continue to have empty possessions on the offensive end, but the good process of execution, it just puts a ton of pressure on the other stuff,” Joe Mazzulla said. “They’re really good at that. Whether it’s their shot-making, whether it’s their fouling, whether it’s their offensive rebounds, you can only hold down the fort for so long. So, I thought we showed great ability to try to get there, get it back to five.
“Thought we got some great looks. But they put a ton of pressure just kind of on your defense throughout, and you have to be able to answer the call there. We can shoot a bit better, we can get some more offensive rebounds, we can execute a little bit better, but I thought our defense worked to hold the fort down as long as we could.”
The Celtics still have plenty of things to improve on. Nikola Vucevic looked a bit out of place at times on offense, and not having Sam Hauser meant that Mazzulla went back to the double-big look again.
“Primary? I don’t know about primary,” Mazzulla said when asked if the missed shots were the primary reason Boston lost. “I think, at the end of the day, that plays a small part in it. I think we can continue to get better at executing, we can get better at screening, we can get better at our spacing, we can get better at creating easy ones. I think that was a part of it.
“So, just continuing to get better in those areas. I wouldn’t say that’s the primary one, but it played a part.”
Things were clunky. But the shots have to go down.
Payton Pritchard and Vucevic both shot 1-of-6 from three. Brown shot 0-of-4. Luka Garza went 0-of-3. Baylor Scheierman was 2-of-7. Ron Harper Jr. and Hugo Gonzalez combined to shoot 0-of-6.
New York’s drop defense gave up a ton of open threes. Boston just couldn’t convert.
2. Knicks adjusted to Celtics defense
Boston sends a lot of help. When a player drives into the paint, they throw extra pressure at them, rotate, and close out late on three-point shooters.
On Friday, Neemias Queta guarded Josh Hart. So, when a player drove, he helped off Hart, giving the Knicks forward space to shoot.
But rather than sit idly by and accept three-point looks, the Knicks adjusted. Hart and Mikal Bridges, in particular, took advantage of the Celtics’ desire to help. Because whenever a Boston defender was watching to see if they could help, New York cut.
“We didn’t do a great job of handling those cutters,” Brown said. “I think Bridges got a bunch of easy layups on just cuts, and we gotta make some adjustments on that. So, we’ll watch it, and we’ll make some adjustments.”
Like here, Queta is so worried about helping on Jalen Brunson that Hart is able to cut, get a step on him, and draw a foul in the paint.
Or here. Pritchard switches on the Bridges screen, but since Jordan Walsh is staring at Brunson, waiting for him to drive, Bridges is able to slip behind him to the basket.
“I think that just allows for them to get two-on-ones,” Mazzulla said. “They’re one of the better corner three-point shooters. I think we gave up one on a BOB [baseline out of bounds play] to Hart. We didn’t give up too many of those. But it does create space for their guys to be able to play, whether it’s Towns, or whether it’s Brunson, so they did a good job of that. They made a ton of plays out of it.”
And that BOB play Mazzulla mentioned was yet another example of the ‘Help Off Hart’ strategy hurting the Celtics. They played the tendency too strictly, and Vucevic went under a screen, giving up an open corner three for Hart.
Hart has shot 24-of-58 (50.0%) on the season from the corners. But above the break, he’s shot just 41-of-113 (36.3%) from deep. It’s all about KYP. Know your personnel.
3. Baylor Scheierman is awesome
This has been a takeaway for every game for about a month now: Scheierman is a winning basketball player.
The Celtics lost this game by 22 points. Scheierman was a +1. The only positive plus/minus on the team. And that matches the eye-test.
It wasn’t about scoring. In fact, it couldn’t have been less about scoring. Scheierman shot just 3-of-8 from the field and 2-of-7 from deep. But he did everything else.
He made plays as a passer, hustled on defense and drew offensive fouls, and was the best rebounder on a court that also included Karl-Anthony Towns, Queta, Garza, Vucevic, and Mitchell Robinson.
“Obviously, his offensive rebounding, but his rebounding outside of his area is a big one,” Mazzulla said. “So, 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. I think he’s playing at a great level for us defensively and really, on the rebounding piece, on both ends.”
Scheierman’s 13 rebounds were a game-high (and career-high). There was no ball that he wasn’t willing to go get.
Brunson had 31 points. He shot 12-of-21 from the floor and 4-of-8 from deep. It was a masterful scoring performance, filled to the brim with tough buckets.
Brown guarded him. Scheierman guarded him. Walsh guarded him. It didn’t matter. This was one of those days when he could do no wrong.
“Let him get a couple free throws to kind of get going, but just communication stuff,” Brown said. “I think [we] could have helped a little bit, being able to get through those screens, etc. But we’re still adjusting. We got some changes that [we] made to our lineup. So, we’re still figuring things out. It’s a part of the journey. So, we take it on the chin and move on to the next one.”
The Celtics do have some defensive kinks to iron out. It’s clear that Vucevic is still getting used to a new defensive system, so he’s been out of place at times.
But overall, Brunson was on fire. The Celtics just couldn’t slow him down.
5. Knicks brought the physicality
New York did a great job of preventing easy passes. Led by Bridges, Hart, and new acquisition Jose Alvarado, they fought hard off the ball, playing deny defense on Pritchard, White, and Brown.
They made every single pass the Celtics tried to make difficult, and it really disrupted the flow of Boston’s offense.
“I think it was just a rock fight. [Highly] physical game,” Mazzulla said. “And so, you’re going to have stretches of that [lots of whistles]. So, to me, when stuff like that happens, is our defense waning? And our defense didn’t wane. So, we just got to continue to execute better, rebound better, and then continue to get better defensively.”
6. Derrick White’s Super Bowl bet
White showed up to Sunday’s game in a red Patriots jersey. He was even rocking a Patriots helmet.
The jersey was No. 8, but it wasn’t a Stefon Diggs jersey. It was a Nick Sang jersey.
Sang is one of the Celtics’ trainers. He primarily works with Jayson Tatum, and he’s been by the superstar’s side throughout his entire recovery process.
White, a native of Parker, Colorado, is a Denver Broncos fan. So, when the Patriots and Broncos met in the AFC Championship game, he and Sang made a bet. Obviously, Sang won, so White had to wear that Patriots jersey to the arena on Super Bowl Sunday.
Luckily for White, he didn’t have to wear it out.
“Tough bet to lose,” White said with a smile. “Damn, Broncos. We had it, too. We had it. We had it.”
That said, White is excited for the Broncos’ bounce-back year.
“I’ve moved on,” White said. “Although, wearing the jersey and the helmet today kind of brought it back. But I’ve moved on. Just hope it’s an entertaining game. But yeah, now, I’m all-in on next season. Bo Nix coming back. Got a lot to be excited in Denver. But best of luck to everybody in the Super Bowl today.”
As for who he’s rooting for? He can’t, in good conscience, root for anyone except his Broncos. He just wants to watch good football.
“I’m not like, ‘Oh, they beat us, so I don’t want them to win.’ I’m not that,” White said. “I don’t really care who wins. I just hope it’s a good game. Hope it’s entertaining. So, that’s really all I’m going for.”
