If Celtics can fit Nikola Vucevic into the fold, then this team can be scary good in the playoffs

NEW YORK — One week before the postseason tips off, the Boston Celtics remain a blueprint still being inked, and Thursday night’s 112-106 loss to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden felt more like a laboratory session than a final exam. With Jaylen Brown resting a sore Achilles and Jayson Tatum returning to the scene of last spring’s traumatic Achilles rupture, coach Joe Mazzulla used the national-stage matchup to accelerate the integration of newcomer Nikola Vucevic, and the early returns suggest the Celtics may have unlocked a new gear when the games matter most.

Vucevic logged 23 minutes 45 seconds, his heaviest workload since returning from a fractured right ring finger, and shook off a 1-for-7 first-half start to bury a pair of corner threes and finish plus-9 in the second half. The 34-year-old center, acquired to give Boston a different offensive dimension, helped fuel a 19-4 third-quarter run that briefly swung momentum, setting solid screens, grabbing offensive rebounds and manipulating New York’s coverage out of the pick-and-pop.

“Like we saw, he was much more comfortable tonight,” Mazzulla said. “He set great screens, manipulated some matchups for us, got a couple of offensive rebounds. I thought he was physical on both ends and will continue to get better.”

The timing is critical. Boston enters the final weekend one victory from locking up the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed, yet the rotation behind starting big man Neemias Queta remains fluid. Vucevic’s ability to stretch the floor—he entered Thursday 13-for-45 from deep since the trade—opens spacing for Tatum, White and a soon-to-return Brown. When the 6-foot-10 veteran buried his first triple late in the third quarter, the Celtics bench erupted.

“I know I can shoot; I’ve been shooting for a long time,” Vucevic said. “When you miss time with a hand injury, it takes a little to get the comfort back. I just needed that one to go in.”

Tatum, playing nearly 40 minutes in his first game back at MSG since crumpling to the floor in Game 4 last May, struggled to a 7-for-22 night with six turnovers but walked off under his own power, a mental milestone in itself. With Brown sidelined, Boston needed Tatum to carry the offense and staggered his minutes alongside Vucevic to test two-man actions that could become playoff staples. The pair showed flashes: Vucevic’s second-half triples came off Tatum kick-outs, and the big man’s presence drew Mitchell Robinson away from the rim, clearing driving lanes.

The downside was evident—Josh Hart’s 15-point fourth quarter buried the Celtics—but the process mattered more than the result. Mazzulla closed with Vucevic alongside the core quartet, a look that could reappear in a potential second-round rematch with New York. The alternative is leaning on third-stringer Luka Garza, whose minutes have dipped since Vucevic’s return.

For Vucevic, Thursday offered a first taste of Celtics-Knicks hysteria and a reminder of what meaningful basketball feels like. He has logged only 16 postseason games in 15 seasons, three beyond the first round. In Boston, the stakes are championship or bust.

“It’s a great opportunity to be on a team like this,” he said. “My ability to play inside and outside gives us a different look. I really want to deliver.”

If the experiment clicks—if Vucevic’s pick-and-pop threes fall and his rebounding stabilizes second-unit minutes—the Celtics will enter the playoffs with a dimension they lacked a year ago. Thursday’s loss may sting, but the larger picture is coming into focus: a fully integrated Vucevic makes Boston more versatile, more unpredictable and, yes, scary good when the bright lights turn on.