4 takeaways as Celtics fall to Knicks, fail to clinch No. 2 seed

NEW YORK — The Celtics fell to the Knicks 112-106 on Thursday from Madison Square Garden, failing to clinch the No. 2 seed for the East playoffs. The Knicks had just enough to win Thursday. The C’s fell to 54-26 on the season while the Knicks improved to 52-28. Boston was also without Jaylen Brown for Thursday’s loss.

Both teams were evenly matched through the first half with neither side able to build a huge lead. The Celtics struggled shooting 3-pointers to open the night, but they kept themselves in the game with second-chance points.

The Knicks went up by 13 points in the third quarter, threatening to pull away from the Celtics. But instead, Boston clawed back into the game to force a close finish. Both teams exchanged blows in a clutch game Thursday with the Knicks coming out on top.

Jayson Tatum finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists. Payton Pritchard added 23 points off the bench. Baylor Scheierman was massive in the second half with 20 points. Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 25 points and nine assists. Josh Hart also scored 23 points in a huge performance.

The Celtics face the Pelicans at 7:30 p.m. Friday at TD Garden to finish the back-to-back. Here are four takeaways from Boston’s loss to New York:

Standings watch: The Celtics will need to wait at least one more night before officially clinching the No. 2 seed. They need just one win or one Knicks loss to secure second place in the East with two games left in the regular season. So while the loss was tough, the Celtics can still take care of their seeding. Notably, it was a huge win for New York when it comes to the No. 3 seed in the East. The Knicks are now up one game on the Cavaliers in the standings with two games to play and own the tiebreaker.

Stepping up: It was the Scheierman show in the second half for the Celtics, scoring 17 of his 20 points after halftime. Jordan Walsh got the start Thursday, putting together some nice moments. But Scheierman was huge for the C’s, shooting 7-for-8 from the field and 6-for-7 on 3-pointers. The second-year pro closed out the game for the Celtics, looking like a veteran for stretches Thursday.

Making his return: While the rest of the C’s starters got boos during pregame intros Thursday, it was a different tune for Tatum. It wasn’t exactly a roar, but the Knicks fans in attendance gave Tatum a cordial cheer when his name was announced. They understood this was the first time Tatum was back at Madison Square Garden since rupturing his right Achilles tendon last playoffs. Tatum started hot but the shot-making was off, finishing 7-for-22 from the field in 39 minutes. Tatum spoke about some of the apprehension that would come from his New York return, but that’s now past him.

Filling in the absence: Seemingly every time the Celtics don’t have Brown for a game, Pritchard has stepped up in a big way. That was again the case Thursday. Pritchard started the shot-making early, including scoring 11 points in the first quarter. Pritchard’s production was much-needed on a night where the C’s struggled shooting to start the night. It’s also important that Pritchard can get his shots off considering New York could be a potential playoff foe in a month.

More Celtics content

• Baylor Scheierman is the Celtics ‘Name to Know’ Player of the Game in Thursday’s loss to Knicks
• Jayson Tatum chose to face mental challenge instead of sitting out
• Celtics injury report: Jaylen Brown downgraded for Knicks game
• Celtics playoffs opponent: Who could Boston play in 1st round?

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