Boston went a brutal 17.1 percent from 3-point range as Jalen Brunson and the Knicks crushed the Celtics on Sunday afternoon. Boston went icy cold and couldn’t get on track in the second half of a 111-89 loss. Here are the key takeaways from the game.

### Celtics’ Offensive Struggles from Deep

Less than 48 hours after going 1-for-20 in the first half of a comeback victory against the Heat, the Celtics bricked their way to their worst performance of the season from 3-point range: just 7-for-41, a brutal 17.1 percent from deep. Previously, their worst performance had been 11-for-51 (21.6 percent) in a loss to the Jazz in November.

The last time the Celtics shot 17.1 percent or worse from beyond the arc was on December 10, 2021, in a loss to the Suns—an otherwise rough 3-point shooting season, including a 2-for-26 outing against the Wizards.

The poor shooting was evenly distributed among the players. Payton Pritchard and Nikola Vučević both went 1-for-6, Jaylen Brown missed all four of his attempts (0-for-4), Luka Garza was 0-for-3, and Baylor Scheierman made just 2 of 7. Only Derrick White scraped together something close to acceptable, shooting 3-for-9, but he didn’t make a 3-pointer in the second half.

There isn’t much else to say about why the Celtics lost. That’s not to say they would have beaten the Knicks if they had shot better—Jalen Brunson had a big game with 31 points on 12-for-21 shooting, Neemias Queta struggled to defend without fouling, and several other factors worked against the Celtics. But based on this performance—Boston’s worst shooting night in nearly half a decade—it’s difficult to gauge how evenly matched the new-look Celtics and Knicks would be in a playoff series.

“When you play against a great team like them, and you continue to have empty possessions on the offensive end, a good process of execution puts a ton of pressure on your other stuff,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said after the game. “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.”

### Vučević Shows Some Growing Pains

The Celtics’ newest acquisition, Nikola Vučević, had a quiet yet helpful debut against the Heat, but struggled against the Knicks, who targeted him defensively. Along with Neemias Queta, Vučević found it difficult to defend without fouling. He scored 11 points on 13 shots and, while he delivered some nice passes, he did not register an assist.

Integrating Vučević has been a challenge, as the Celtics have started with a double-big lineup in their last two games—a strategy that hasn’t inspired much confidence so far.

Meanwhile, the Celtics might have benefited from Anfernee Simons, who they traded away to acquire Vučević. Simons is known for his offensive flurries, and Boston clearly looked like they could have used one to break their scoring drought on Sunday. Of course, that’s a simplistic analysis. Vučević will add value on the court, the trade allows Boston more opportunities to add value in the offseason, and—perhaps most importantly—he is still very new to the team and should be evaluated with patience.

“I just understand it’s going to be a process,” White said. “I know what it’s like to be traded and to join a new team and system. Luckily for me, I knew most of the stuff and terminology, but it’s kind of completely different for him. Just going to welcome him with open arms and try to help any way I can.”

### Defending Jaylen Brown: The “Face” Tactic

The Knicks’ latest acquisition, Jose Alvarado, became the newest player to draw a foul by putting his face in the way of Jaylen Brown’s elbow as the Celtics wing went up for a jumper—a tactic familiar to those who know Alvarado’s style of play.

Brown’s elbows have caused some issues this season. On Friday, Brown went up for a short jumper and his elbow caught Andrew Wiggins, which was called an offensive foul after a Celtics challenge was unsuccessful. Had the Heat scored on the play, Brown’s elbow could have been far costlier.

Brown also earned a flagrant one earlier this season after unintentionally hitting Hawks big man Onyeka Okongwu with an elbow during the Celtics’ loss on January 29.

Opponents seem to be factoring Brown’s elbow into their scouting reports, and defenders unafraid to take a shot to the face are using it to their advantage.

“Just because their face is in there, they’re giving them the offensive foul,” Brown said. “I disagree, but we’ve sent clips to the league. They call it 50/50 every time inconsistently. But a guy shouldn’t just be able to put his face in there and get an offensive foul if I go up in my normal shot motion. If his face is there or not, that’s on him. But they allow guys to do that to me when I’ve got the ball. It almost cost us the game the last time. We ended up winning, but it should’ve been an and-1. Tonight, it was the same thing. Hopefully, we find some consistency on that.”

Brown finished with 26 points on 11-for-25 shooting to go with four assists. His assist total would have likely been higher if not for the Celtics’ historically poor shooting.

### Baylor Scheierman Might Just Be Genuinely Good

A small positive for the Celtics was another solid game from Baylor Scheierman, who continues to impress with his two-way contributions. Scheierman finished with 10 points, 13 rebounds (cleaning up many boards as others boxed out the Knicks’ dangerous offensive rebounders), and five assists.

When Scheierman pulls down a rebound, he is dangerous pushing the ball up the floor and making plays. The Celtics have benefited from strong performances from their bench wings all season, with Jordan Walsh, Hugo González, and the now-departed Josh Minott all impressing at various times. Now, Scheierman appears to be enjoying his moment in the sun.

“His rebounding outside of his area is a big one,” Mazzulla said. “So whether he’s boxing the guy out or on the perimeter, he comes back, crashes defensively, and gets those boards. 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.”

### Karl-Anthony Towns Wears Amar’e Stoudemire’s Glasses

ABC’s coverage of the game unearthed a fun nugget: Karl-Anthony Towns, who received 16 stitches over his right eye and needed to wear eye protection, borrowed goggles from Amar’e Stoudemire, the former Knicks star known for wearing goggles throughout much of his career.

Stoudemire began sporting the goggles after suffering a severely detached retina in 2009 and continued wearing them for the rest of his career. The Knicks apparently still have a collection of them leftover from Stoudemire’s five-year tenure in New York.

Towns wore the goggles in the first half but took them off entirely in the second. Don’t expect him to make a permanent switch to wearing goggles like Stoudemire did.

### Derrick White Not Rooting Against the Patriots

Colorado native Derrick White showed no bitterness after the Patriots knocked the Broncos out of the playoffs, despite losing a bet with Celtics athletic trainer Nick Sang and having to wear a Patriots jersey and helmet into the arena.

“I’ve moved on,” White said. “Although wearing the jersey and helmet today brought it back a bit, I’ve moved on. I just hope it’s an entertaining game.”

White added that he is fully behind next season when Broncos quarterback Bo Nix returns.

“I’m not ‘Oh, they beat us.’ I’m not that. I don’t really care who wins—I just hope it’s a good game. I’m just looking for entertainment, so that’s really all I’m going for.”

### What’s Next

The Celtics are now tied with the Knicks by record, with one game remaining before the All-Star break—a reunion showdown against the Bulls at 7:30 p.m. on February 11. This game will see Anfernee Simons return to Boston after being traded last week, and Vučević will face off against his old team.

After the break, the Celtics will begin a Western trip starting with a game against the Warriors on February 19.
https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2026/02/08/celtics-knicks-takeaways-jalen-brunson-boston-worst-shooting-night-in-years/