Eastern Conference Quarterfinals - Game 2: Celtics at Knicks

After a big first half on Saturday, Jeff Green needs to do it again tonight.

After a frustrating loss in Game 1 of the series, the Celtics will look to even their series tonight with the Knicks.

Boston played well in Game 1, but appeared to run out of gas in the fourth quarter and let a win slip from their grasps. After two days off -- as well as plenty of practice, film and reflection -- the Celtics have expressed their confidence in tying the series up before heading back to Boston.

For the Knicks, Pablo Prigioni is expected to play after missing Game 1 with a right ankle sprain. Other than that, there is no other injury news.

Here's a preview:

Projected lineups:

Celtics:
Avery Bradley
Paul Pierce
Jeff Green
Brandon Bass
Kevin Garnett

Knicks:
Pablo Prigioni
Raymond Felton
Carmelo Anthony
Chris Copeland
Tyson Chandler

Keys to the game:

1. Finding a rhythm: Let's face it: if you score 78 points, your chances of winning are minimal. If you score only 8 points in the fourth quarter against a team with the league's leading scorer and the league's Sixth Man of the Year -- the NBA announced yesterday that J.R. Smith was the recipient of the honor -- your chances of winning decrease incrementally. For the Celtics to win tonight, they need to establish a rhythm on offense and stick with it. They need to get Kevin Garnett more touches. After playing what Doc Rivers described as the "perfect game," Brandon Bass has to get more than 2 shots in 33 minutes. The bench, whose 4 points came off free throws from Courtney Lee, needs to play better, particularly Jason Terry. Although he did log a season-high 45 minutes, Jeff Green needs to play consistently. After scoring 20 first-half points, Green shot 1-of-5 in the second half and scored only 6 points. He played the entire fourth quarter and only had 1 field goal attempt. Doc Rivers said after the game that the Celtics lack of ball movement led to their fourth quarter collapse. Boston needs to get back to what made them successful when Rajon Rondo went down, which is moving the ball and not relying on what Doc Rivers calls "hero basketball."

2. Don't let up: Through the first three quarters of Game 1, you couldn't have asked for more out of the Celtics. They did what they do best; they made New York grind out every offensive possession, shared the ball on offense and managed to lead by three going into the final frame. From there, it all fell apart. The Celtics know they can't let that happen tonight. For the first 36 minutes, the Celtics turned the ball over 13 times, shot a better percentage than the Knicks (44% to 41%) and had 16 assists on 24 baskets to New York's 11 assists on 24 baskets. In the fourth, the Celtics shot a hideous 27% and committed 8 turnovers. They have to play 48 minutes on offense. They also cannot afford to let up on defense. After holding him to 9-of-24 from the field through the first three frames, the Celtics allowed Carmelo Anthony to go off in the fourth quarter, as he scored 8 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Limiting New York's effectiveness on offense will allow Boston to get into a better offensive rhythm. Because it's awfully hard to maintain any rhythm when you're constantly taking the ball out from under the basket.