Celtics Undergo Second Half Collapse Again, Nets/Bulls Series Tied 1-1

In Game 2 of the Boston Celtics vs. New York matchup on Tuesday, the same Celtics team from Sunday appeared to show up again and lost 87-71 to the Knicks.

The Celtics endured another second half collapse, only scoring 23 points and shooting 19.4 percent from the field. They were outscored 24-4 in the the third quarter and entered the final quarter ahead by 15 points. For the night, the Celtics saw their worst shooting percentage since 1996-97 for any postseason half, according to ESPN.

For the night, Paul Pierce led in scoring with 18 points, followed by Kevin Garnett with 12 points with 11 rebounds.

Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony

For the Knicks, they lead the series 2-0. This is a first since 2000 when they swept the Toronto Raptors in the first round and eventually made it to the Eastern Conference semifinals that year.

To make it a 4-0 Celtics series sweep, New York has 6 to 1 odds to do so.

Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks in scoring with 34 points (11 of 24), followed by J.R. Smith with 19 points and Raymond Felton’s 16 points.

Anthony, who has a 29 o/u for average first-round points per game, said after Tuesday’s game via ESPN, “For us, we know what type of team we are. We know when we really buckle down on the defensive end, it’s been hard for teams.”

Now the series heads to the Boston on Friday night. Winning a third straight game could pose a challenge in light of Boston’s recent events. The Celtics should get an extra boost from the home crowd.

Also during Tuesday evening’s game, NBA TV’s analysts made postseason awards picks with former Knicks coach and president Isiah Thomas selecting Knicks coach Mike Woodson as the league’s Coach of the Year. Keep in mind that Thomas and Woodson are friends and college teammates from Indiana University; they talk frequently.

Woodson heard the pick and said via ESPN, “That’s good, but I mean, again, I’m not in this for Coach of the Year, I’m in to try to see if we can get this team to the championship round to try to win a title. If that happens, it happens, but I’m not sitting here holding my breath about a Coach of the Year award.”

A NBA Championship would help Woodson’s case and the Knicks are currently 16 to 1 to win it.

In other Atlantic Division playoff news, the Brooklyn Nets are tied 1-1 with the Chicago Bulls. Their third game will take place on Thursday in Chicago.

It’s been a lopsided series so far with the Nets decisively taking the first game 106-89. It was a nice first win for the Nets who haven’t made a trip to the playoffs since 2007.

Bulls Carlos Boozer

In the game, the Bulls defense failed to show up, especially in the second quarter when the Nets went 16 for 20 in their shots. For the night, they shot 56 percent with six players scoring in double numbers.

As for the Bulls, Carlos Boozer may have been its only bright spot with 25 points and eight rebounds.

Yes, the team does need Derrick Rose but he is unlikely to return for the playoffs.

But in the second game of this series, it was a different Bulls team, fueled by their veterans’ play and defense. Luol Deng showed up and scored 15 points, nine rebounds with four assists. Boozer contributed 13 points with 12 rebounds; Joakim Noah added 11 points, 10 rebounds with three assists.

Kirk Hinrich kept a good watch on Deron Williams, who went 1 for 9 from the field.

For Bulls fans, it’ a good thing they won on Monday as teams down 2-0 during a best-of-seven game series only win the series six percent of the time (an all-time stat of 15-233), reported ESPN.

To win it all, the Bulls and the Nets are both 60 to 1.