Without an outstanding playmaker to organize the offense or the chemistry generated by their starting five working together, the Celtics simply could not sustain the fluid, free-flowing offense they had displayed in the first quarter on Brown and Holiday's efforts alone.
Their objectives on the court were not clear enough, and their decisions sometimes seemed too casual. All of that inevitably brought Boston's offensive efficiency down.
The New York Knicks, meanwhile, faced precisely the opposite situation.
With Chris Paul directing things, the team's offensive structure was actually very sound.
They used the high 1-5 Pick and Roll to create scoring opportunities for players on both wings.
Paul George, Obi Toppin, and Strus then finished those possessions whenever possible. From a tactical standpoint, there was nothing particularly wrong with that.
The problem lay with the players themselves.
Paul was getting older, and both his ability to threaten off the dribble and his offensive efficiency had inevitably declined.
At least in the opening minutes of the second quarter, Paul failed to maintain his aggressiveness. That further weakened the threat of the 1-5 Pick and Roll, the opening action at the very heart of this system, directly undermining the team's overall efficiency.
On most possessions, the Celtics chose to play drop coverage, allowing Paul to take longer two-point shots while refusing to give him openings inside the free-throw line.
That soft hedge, combined with help defense from the wings, was also enough for the Celtics to handle Horford, who tried to roll into receiving positions but lacked quick feet.
Under those circumstances, the Knicks also struggled to get their offense going.
Five minutes of the second quarter gradually passed in a contest that was hardly spectacular.
Then Tom Thibodeau waved his hand and called the first timeout, taking the opportunity to substitute Chen