Celtics Jayson Tatum admits brutal truth: I need to be better vs. Knicks

Through two games, Jayson Tatum has been Wingstopped. The two Knicks wings, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby, have shut down the Celtics’ six-time All-Star. After averaging 31.3 points and shooting 44.7 percent from the field in the opening-round series victory over the Magic, Tatum has been held to 18 points on 28.6 percent shooting in the Eastern Conference semifinals.He also has committed eight turnovers in the two games. The lasting image of the Knicks’ 20-point comeback to win Game 2 was of Tatum being swarmed by Bridges and Anunoby on the final possession, and having his desperation pass stolen by Bridges as time ran out. “I take full ownership of the way that I’ve played in this series,” Tatum said in Boston on Thursday.

“I can’t sugarcoat anything.I need to be better.

And I expect to be a lot better.”The Celtics will need him to be if they’re going to rally from this 0-2 series hole.His shaky performance has been a surprise.

Tatum is coming off a terrific regular season — when he averaged 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and a career-best 6.0 assists.In four regular-season games against the Knicks, he was virtually unstoppable — producing 33.5 points, 7.0 assists and shooting a whopping 53.5 percent from the field. On that final possession, Tatum was initially guarded by Knicks center Mitchell Robinson on a switch.

He tried to drive past Robinson, then dribbled toward the baseline, where Anunoby and Bridges helped off their men.Tatum had nowhere to go. “I just made the wrong read,” he said.

“Went into a crowded area.Obviously, if I had that opportunity again, or the next time it presented itself, it’d have a different outcome.”The Celtics’ issues go beyond Tatum.

They have shot poorly from 3-point range (25 percent).Kristaps Porzingis (27 minutes in two games) has been significantly limited by an illness related to the upper respiratory issue that forced him to miss eight contests in March.

And the Knicks have been the far...