Play.
The Knicks stun the Celtics with a desperation 3 at the buzzer.
The Knicks won it on a 3-pointer at the buzzer byRJBarrett. 1:06
The time is 12:54 AM.
After the Boston Celtics blew their latest lead of the season in a heartbreaking108-105 defeat at the hands of the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, coach Ime Udoka repeatedly called out his team for a lack of mental toughness.
"I think it's a lack of mental toughness to fight through those adverse times," Udoka said after the Knicks beat the Celtics. It's across the board. There is a turnover, a bad shot, a missed defensive assignment, and several missed rebound.
It's a lot of different things. A calming presence to slow it down and get us what we want is what you need at that point. Sometimes we get caught up in it.
Boston has blown four leads of at least 19 points this season, two more than any other team in the NBA, and has been one of the NBA's worst fourth-quarter teams. The Celtics are 29th in net rating and 26th in offensive efficiency and 25th in defensive efficiency in the fourth quarter.
They are in a tie with Atlanta for 11th place in the Eastern Conference, which is outside of the playoffs but the play-in tournament spots.
The way the Celtics lost Thursday was similar to many of the losses that have put them in that situation. In order for that to change, his team's approach has to change.
Udoka said that it's guys getting rattled when it's not the end of the world. You still have a comfortable lead, and you have to stop that run.
We need a solid shot and not to get caught up in the game. You have to play the game differently in the first and fourth quarters. It's different when the team is going on the run and when you're getting stops.
It is not an open gym. You can't just play the same game. We have to have better understanding of that and get the quality shot that we want to stop a run and not just get caught up in it and four, five guys make the wrong play and it starts to snowball.
Boston has had the latter scenario happen too many times this season. The Celtics allowed the Knicks to storm back into the game with two separate runs in the third quarter, before New York eventually came all the way back in the fourth.
"We just have to regroup," said Celtics star Jayson Tatum, who had 36 points, including a jumper with 1.5 seconds left that, at least briefly, tied the game for Boston. Losing leads and not finishing out in the fourth quarter is a tough thing to deal with.
It makes you appreciate those moments when you look back at those years when we were going to the conference finals. It's hard. It is not easy.
Early on, I thought that was normal. It's probably taking it for granted that you can win all those games. It makes you appreciate times like that even more because you know how hard it is to win in this league.
Boston is learning that the hard way. The Celtics have made it to the Eastern Conference finals three times in the last four seasons, but they are guaranteed to be under.500 when the season ends next week.
Brad Stevens, the Celtics president of basketball operations, would operate with the media, but Udoka has gone after his team for its play in postgame media sessions.
He pointedly said that his team needs to be smarter and tougher in late-and- close situations.
"It's been the same result and it's some kind of mental toughness there, where something goes a little bad and we all start to drop our heads," Udoka said.
The Celtics will head back to Boston to try and get their season back on track against the Knicks on Saturday night.
Celtics center Robert Williams said that they get rattled a lot when facing adversity. "We have to find ourselves, the fight, and the strength to come together when something isn't going our way."
