Brown: Loss to Knicks 'feels like death,' but life after

NEW YORK -- A 38-point defeat in an elimination game has a way of hurrying the stages of loss. The Boston Celtics were at acceptance by the time they left Madison Square Garden on Friday night.

A 119-81 drubbing by the New York Knicks ended the teams' Eastern Conference semifinal series in six games and the Celtics' time as NBA champions with a finality.

"Finishing in May feels weird, it's definitely not something we were prepared for," said Celtics star Jaylen Brown, who fouled out before the end of the third quarter after scoring 20 points but with seven turnovers. "Things didn't go our way this year, and it's unfortunate. But we hold our head up regardless. Losing to the Knicks feels like death. But I was always taught that there's life after death, so we'll get ready for whatever's next in the journey."

Though they rallied for a victory in Game 5 that forced a return trip to New York and gave them hope of a rare 3-1 comeback, the Celtics were never the same after seeing star teammate Jayson Tatum go down with a torn Achilles tendon in Monday's Game 4.

But after the Knicks twice came back from 20-point deficits in the second half to steal Games 1 and 2 in Boston and then the total domination that played out in Game 6, the Celtics were also prepared to congratulate their once heavy underdog opponent.

"We ran into a great team. You have to tip your hat off to the Knicks," Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. "They outplayed us. They played better."

The Celtics didn't have a big lead to blow Friday. The Knicks led wire-to-wire and were up by as many as 41 points. New York displayed tremendous defensive energy, holding Boston to 33% shooting in the first half when the tone of the game was established.

Mazzulla changed his starting lineup for the fourth time in six games, going with Luke Kornet, a Game 5 hero and Boston's third different starting center in the series. But the Knicks didn't allow Kornet to bother them and then dominated the interior, crushing the Celtics in paint points (48-34), second-chance points (25-11) and rebounds (55-36).

In addition to the loss of Tatum, the Celtics never had the best of center Kristaps Porzingis, who played 12 largely empty minutes off the bench. He was a key against the Knicks in the regular season, when he averaged 25 points on 50% shooting and Boston went 4-0. Fighting an illness that has affected him since February, Porzingis was 6-of-25 shooting and averaged 4.2 points in the series.

"[It was] super, super frustrating. As frustrating as you can imagine. Just to not be able to help this team more, especially with JT going out," Porzingis said. "Not being too much of a help just hurts deep inside."

Porzingis said he planned to undergo a period of rest and some more testing over the next couple of months, hoping to "reset" his system. He said he was still planning on playing for his native Latvia in Eurobasket in August.

The future, in general, is hazy for the Celtics. With Tatum facing a long recovery after undergoing surgery Tuesday that could wipe out his 2025-26 season, the Celtics are facing a record payroll of up to $500 million next season if this roster remains intact.

The Celtics are soon to be sold to a group led by investor Bill Chisholm, who hasn't yet made his spending plans clear after buying a majority stake in the team this summer at a more than $6 billion valuation.

"You'll never get this season back. You're never going to have the exact same team again," Celtics guard Derrick White said. "So obviously, there were some highs and obviously, some lows of the season, but at the moment, it's just kind of down."