In the Knicks’ jubilant locker room, Karl-Anthony Towns refused to get caught up in the moment.
Sure, he was excited about another dramatic come-from-behind victory, the second time in three days the Knicks had erased a 20-point, third-quarter deficit, becoming the first NBA team in the play-by-play era (since 1996) to accomplish that feat in playoff history.
But he has been there before, exactly one year ago.
The Timberwolves took the first two games from the defending champion Nuggets in Denver last year.
“We left home 2-2,” he recalled. “We can’t take anything for granted. We’ve got to … [execute] at a high level, can’t keep doing these 20-point leads for Boston and hope to come back and win the game. We’ve got to play better. We’ve got to shoot better. We’ve got to execute better.”
The Knicks, a massive underdog entering this round, are obviously in a terrific spot, in the driver’s seat of this Eastern Conference semifinal series.
They lead 2-0. Only 34 teams in NBA playoff history have rallied from 0-2 deficits to win a series, but just five of those have dropped the first two games at home.
It, however, can flip fast in the playoffs, as Towns reminded Wednesday night.
Minnesota, it should be noted, won that series in seven.
Last year’s Knicks held a 2-0 series lead over the Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals and lost in seven grueling games.
While this is a different situation — they are healthy and coming home rather than going on the road shorthanded — the Knicks know they will be getting the Celtics’ best shot Saturday afternoon.
Boston was an NBA-best 33-8 away from home during the regular season, winning twice at Madison Square Garden.
The Celtics didn’t lose three straight games all year and suffered back-to-back losses just three times, including the start to this series.
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They are bound to perform better than they did at TD Garden, likely to shoot much better from 3-point range (25 percent) than in the first two games.
All-Star wings Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are bound to snap out of their funk after going a combined 27-for-85 so far.
“Mentality is 0-0. Not going to focus on that,” Jalen Brunson said. “[We’re] going to focus on the next play, the next quarter. Don’t look ahead. Don’t look to anything. Focus on the task at hand and be present.”
That was, not surprisingly, coach Tom Thibodeau’s message.
He called the Knicks’ lead in the series “irrelevant.”
“The big thing is to understand what it’s going to take to win Game 3, to not get lost,” he said. “If you’re up, that doesn’t guarantee anything. What we have to understand is what we have to do to win Game 3.”
While the Celtics expect to take their game to another level, the Knicks can say the same thing.
This hasn’t been their best, either. Brunson has made only 15 of 42 shots.
The Knicks have been out-rebounded twice and are averaging 13.5 turnovers.
Their Game 2 offensive rating of 94.8 (points per 100 possessions) was their worst of the postseason.
“We’ve got to obviously play better,” Towns said.
Saturday afternoon’s Game 3 will mark the Knicks’ first game at the Garden in 13 days, since their disappointing Game 5, opening-round loss to the Pistons.
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They struggled at home in that series, losing two of three contests, and in their lone win, they rallied from an eight-point, fourth-quarter deficit.
Their best home performance this postseason will be needed.
The Knicks are aware of that.
They haven’t accomplished anything yet.
“We haven’t earned the right to capture the moment,” Towns said. “We have to do a lot more work playing one of the best teams in the NBA, and we know we can’t relax at any point.”
