Another problem in both games is that the Celtics lost on the last possession. In Game 1, Jaylen Brown had the ball stolen from Mikal Bridges in the game's final play. In Game 2, Jayson Tatum was triple-teamed, which led to Bridges stealing his pass attempt, putting Boston down 2-0 going back to New York.

The Celtics led by as many as 20 points in the third quarter in both of those games, but squandered that advantage by falling apart in the fourth. The games basically ended thanks to spectacular plays on defense from Mikal Bridges, too, as he ripped the ball from Jaylen Brown in Game 1 and stole it from Jayson Tatum in Game 2.