Celtics’ Jayson Tatum Takes ‘Full Ownership’ of Poor Play Against Knicks

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum has accepted blame for his struggles over the first two games of the Eastern Conference second-round playoff series with the New York Knicks and vows to play better in Saturday’s Game 3.

“I take full ownership of the way that I’ve played in this series and can’t sugarcoat anything,” Tatum said Thursday. “I need to be better, and I expect to be a lot better.”

Jayson Tatum Was Held To 13 Points In Game 2

Tatum’s jumper has been nonexistent in roughly 85 minutes of action against New York. The six-time All-Star has made just 12-of-42 shots (29%) and has failed to connect from 3-point range, shooting only 5-of-20 (25%).

According to Basketball Reference, Tatum has also attempted only nine free throws in the two games and has eight turnovers, including on the final play of the Knicks’ 91-90 victory in Game 2.

“Guys work really hard on their game and their craft and prepare to be in those moments to hit open shots, and it just hasn’t happened the last two games,” added Tatum. “But you can’t lose your confidence.”

Jayson Tatum to @GwashburnGlobe on if he puts pressure on himself to step up:

“I mean, I said it earlier, I take full ownership of the way I’ve played in this series. Can’t sugarcoat anything. I need to be better. I expect to be a lot better.” pic.twitter.com/2KHdF7er1T

— Jack Simone (@JackSimoneNBA) May 8, 2025

Tatum and star teammate Jaylen Brown are a combined 2-of-19 shooting in the fourth quarters in the series. The Knicks rallied from 20 points down in the second half of both contests to go up two games.

New York overcame a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter in Game 1, then fought back after trailing by 16 points early in the final frame of Game 2.

“It’s a credit to [Tatum], I don’t think that I appreciate the fact that he would [take responsibility], but I think it’s on everybody,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said.

“We all could be better. I could be better. The things that I can help our team execute on our entire team can be better. And yeah, he can too. So just says who he is taking responsibility for that, and I expect him to be better.”

Celtics Broke NBA Records For 3-Point Shooting In The Regular Season

More importantly, during the regular season, Boston set the single-season record for most 3-pointers attempted and made. The Celtics attempted 3,955 shots from deep, and they made 1,457 of those shots. Both set single-season records.

However, in Game 1 against the Knicks, the C’s set an NBA playoff record with 45 missed 3-pointers in their upset loss. Boston has shot a combined 4-of-26 on 3s in the fourth quarters of Games 1 and 2.

The Celtics are also 3-of-20 shooting in clutch time, defined as the last five minutes of the game with the score within five points, over the two games.

Teams that win the first two games of a best-of-seven series on the road win the series 85.7% of the time.