Avery Bradley was under no illusion that the Celtics deserved to win. But he's also looking forward to a Boston return, and he's doing so with an attitude.
NEW YORK -- The numbers the Boston Celtics left behind in New York should be used as kindling for a nearby fire.
On their way to a 2-0 series deficit, Boston scored 48 combined points in two second halves, including just 23 after the second quarter during Tuesday night's 87-71 loss.
The Celtics were outscored by Carmelo Anthony in the fourth quarter of Game 1, and again in the third quarter of Game 2. According to ESPN Stats and Info, Boston's 19.4 field goal percentage after halftime Tuesday was the lowest during any half over the last 15 postseasons.
As such, Avery Bradley was under no illusion that the Celtics deserved to win. He understands his team can't survive with so many second-half breakdowns, with such poor offensive execution. But he's also looking forward to a Boston return, and he's doing so with an attitude.
"It'll be big for us to be back home," Bradley said. "But after these two losses, we feel like it's payback time. Everybody is mad in here and we cannot wait until the next game."
The guard, who finished with six points and two assists over 34 minutes, said he and his teammates warned against another letdown before suffering just that.
"During halftime, we said let's not play like we played last game," he explained. "And we came out and did the same thing. We're beating ourselves over the head and we definitely don't want to continue this trend of coming out in the second half and not playing hard."
An old saying in the NBA postulates that a postseason series doesn't actually begin until a road team captures a game.
Yet Celtics head coach Doc Rivers didn't find any solace in that notion.
"I've heard this corny line a million times, that the series doesn't start until the road team wins," he said. "I am positive the series has started because we are down 2-0."