Celtics and Thunder Game 1 collapses: What went wrong, and what needs to change for both teams in Game 2

The Celtics and Thunder were both expected to cruise to series victories in the second round. It looked like that would happen midway through both of their Game 1s on Monday evening. Boston led by as many as 20 in the third quarter, while Oklahoma City held a double-digit lead for most of the final three quarters. 

Inpredictable's win probability model put both of those home teams at over 99 percent to win their games in the second half. Somebody forgot to tell the Knicks and Nuggets.

New York mounted a gutsy run with Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson taking turns on the bench, eventually taking the Celtics down 108-105 in overtime. Denver kept its composure and stole the lead with four seconds left to win 121-119.

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If you blinked, you might have missed what happened. Both outcomes were stunning in real time, but also not all that surprising in retrospect at how they happened. The weaknesses that we knew about the Celtics and Thunder coming into these series were both exposed.

How worried should each team be, and what can they do differently in Game 2?

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Celtics shot selection issues in Game 1

The theme of postgame interviews for the Celtics focused on their shot quality. A brutal 15-of-60 from 3 essentially sunk their chances of winning the game. Were those bad shots, or bad luck? It depends on who you ask. 

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla didn't have a problem with the looks that his team was getting. When asked whether he was satisfied with the team's shot selection, he replied "for the most part." 

Jrue Holiday agreed, telling reporters that "we had a lot of good shots we wish would have fell, but the end of the day, we’ve just got to keep on shooting, keep on playing our game." 

Mazzulla did later admit that the poor offensive performance in the third quarter was probably due to a combination of missed shots, poor play-calling, and poor reads.

It's unfair to pin the loss on any one player, but Jayson Tatum stood out in those areas. 

Tatum was just 4-of-15 from deep. Poor shooting nights happen. It's the decision-making behind those looks that is problematic. The Celtics were getting him fantastic matchups throughout the game, forcing the Knicks to switch weaker or slower defenders onto him.

Tatum should have been able to blow by those weaker defenders and get to the rim to score or kick out for an open 3. Instead, he opted for contested jump shots over and over. 

Jayson Tatum's decision-making versus mismatches (Brunson/KAT/MitchRob/Achiuwa) in Game 1 was rough pic.twitter.com/6JE9WPLgVS

— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) May 6, 2025

The Knicks had been reluctant to put their weaker defenders in those positions during the regular season. In a strategic shift, they were more willing to switch in Game 1.

— Yaya Dubin (@JADubin5) May 6, 2025

Jaylen Brown was more aggressive than Tatum on those switches, driving and shooting over smaller defenders like Deuce McBride and Brunson or trying to draw contact against Towns. There were plenty of plays on mismatches that he could clean up as well though for Game 2.

If this is how the Knicks are going to guard the Celtics, then Boston has to rely on its 1-on-1 advantage. Their whole roster is stacked with good shot creation. They can't settle for contested pull-ups in Game 2. The best 3's come when they collapse the defense and spray it out. 

Thunder's inexperience shows up in Game 1

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played well enough to win Game 1, leading the Thunder with 33 points. Alex Caruso was heroic off the bench, becoming the first player in NBA history with 5 steals, 5 made 3s, 5 assists and 2 blocks in a playoff game as SN's Micah Adams pointed out. 

Caruso started the second half in place of Isaiah Hartenstein. The Thunder need to find him more than 26 minutes in the following games. They've been saving him for this point, and he may need to be inserted into the starting lineup before this series is over. 

Caruso and Gilgeous-Alexander weren't quite enough to carry the Thunder. Denver was loading up on SGA towards the end of the game. They needed more from Jalen Williams, who shot just 5-of-20, including a rough 2-of-13 in the second half.

It looked like Williams was turning the corner on his playoff struggles after a strong first-round series where he averaged 23.3 points per game. He didn't play well in the Thunder's second round elimination last season, and some of those issues came back on Monday.

It wasn't just one thing — Williams was forcing layups towards the end of the game. He was missing shots that he normally makes. And his touch on his 3-pointer abandoned him.

The Thunder's youth showed up in a big way at the end of the game. They lost their poise, and they did not look particularly organized. Mark Daigneault is going to receive a lot of criticism for some of the decisions he made. It wasn't his finest moment as a coach. 

Daigneault started off his questionable decision-making by losing his challenge in a bad spot, as Gilgeous-Alexander tried to pull his coach away from the referees. 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander clearly fouled Jokic and tried to get Mark Daigneault to NOT challenge it 😭 pic.twitter.com/97djk9PprF

— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) May 6, 2025

The big source of criticism though was the coach's decision to twice foul immediately while up 3. In doing so, he both allowed Jokic to sub back into the game and stopped the clock quickly, extending the Nuggets' chances. 

MORE: How OKC's decision to foul late backfired in Game 1 loss

Daigneault defended his decision postgame, noting that the strategy had worked for the Thunder in the past. It may have worked again, had Chet Holmgren come through. His two missed free throws and defensive lapse opened up an opportunity for the Nuggets win. 

Really tough end-of-game sequence for Chet. Misses both FT & loses Gordon in transition to give up the game winner. What an incredible comeback from the Nuggets. pic.twitter.com/0JDd5VsdUF

— Coach Gibson Pyper (@HalfCourtHoops) May 6, 2025

While the Thunder looked shaky, Jokic was in control for the entire final stretch. He backed down Gilgeous-Alexander for a shooting foul with under three minutes left and the Thunder up nine. He did the same to Caruso, hitting a floater with under two minutes to go. He capped off his scoring stretch with one of his truly impossible-to-defend shots. 

going back... this was a big shot from jokic. pic.twitter.com/Z3YK5TSEAV

— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) May 6, 2025

Jokic outscored the Thunder 11-9 during the last five minutes of the game. He didn't miss a single shot or free throw, while Oklahoma City went just 3-of-11 during that stretch.

The old saying is that the best player in the series usually wins. Jokic proved it in Game 1. Gilgeous-Alexander will have to do it in Game 2.