Tim BontempsESPNM May 20, 2023 1:53 AM ET4 minutes read
BOSTON — The Celtics have consistently responded well to losses over the past two postseasons. They also struggled with tight late-game situations.
The Celtics, who controlled much of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat on Friday night, seemed poised to level that streak in any game, but another collapse leaves them looking at a 2-0 deficit.
Game 3 takes place in Miami on Sunday night.
“At the end of the day we have to make a real, real decision,” said Celtics forward Grant Williams. “And that decision is going to be: Are we going to come back and really set the tone for the rest of this year and really make a statement, or are we going to come out and lay down?”
“And I don’t think this team is made to lay down.”
Whether the Celtics are ready to lay down or not, they are in a huge hole after Jimmy Butler and the Heat once again picked them apart in the closing moments of the game.
In the fourth quarter of Game 1 on Wednesday night, the Heat kept Boston scoreless for over four minutes and forced three turnovers in the last three minutes – including two infractions by Jayson Tatum from the field.
After Williams dunk 3 minutes and 52 seconds from the end of Game 2, the Celtics didn’t score a field goal for the rest of the night, missing their last four shots and making two turnovers. They essentially had a third loss of possession due to a backcourt infringement against Al Horford and saw Tatum almost lose the ball several times towards the end of the fight.
This allowed Miami to finish on a 24-9 run in the final 6 minutes and 37 seconds. Butler scored nine of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, and Bam Adebayo — who had 22 points, 17 rebounds and nine assists — had eight points, eight rebounds and four assists in the quarter, including two big offensive rebounds.
“It’s a set of discipline and mindset,” said Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla, “and there were times throughout the game where we weren’t the more disciplined team.”
For the Celtics, it’s a familiar chorus. In Game 7 of last year’s conference finals, Boston almost went double-digit against the Heat. The Celtics have had to struggle with such situations in many other places in recent seasons.
Unsurprisingly, following this question, there was no shortage of answers as to what went wrong.
“We just have to keep our composure,” said Jaylen Brown, who scored 16 points in 7-for-23 shooting. “I think we get faster sometimes. Second, we just play basketball. In these moments we have to come alive. It seems like we miss the game when we’re in those situations.”
Tatum, who had 34 points but made five turnovers and missed all three shots in the fourth quarter, said: “We had to improve our performance. We had a double digit lead in both games and losing possession changed the momentum or offense.” Rebounds leading to a 3 changed the momentum. Those plays right when we’re 12 up, when we could be 15, 16 up…they go on an 8-0 run and now it’s four and now the momentum has changed.
“So we were up there and we had to do a better job in situations like that, I would call them winning plays.”
As Tatum pointed out, there were times when it seemed like the outcome would be different. Boston put on longer runs in both the first and second halves, extending double-digit leads on multiple occasions. Mazzulla made several notable adjustments that worked well, from incorporating Grant Williams into the rotation to moving away from a two-man formation by starting Derrick White in place of Robert Williams III in the second half.
But Boston struggled to make shots, scoring 10-of-30 from 3-point range. The Celtics are at 29-30 in the regular season and playoffs when they shoot less than 40% from long range compared to 36:2 when shooting 40% or more.
Combine that with another series of problems towards the end of a tight game and the Celtics are now 11-4 after losing the last two playoffs. Friday’s defeat ended a streak of 16 straight games in which a side that lost Game 1 at home had won Game 2.
Boston, now 2-0 in the series and traveling to Miami, must win four of their next five games — three of them in Miami — to return to the NBA Finals for the second straight year.
“I just have to come out fighting,” Brown said. “Both games they could come out as winners, but who says we can’t come out as winners in the next two games? We just have to prepare to play basketball.”
“We must not lose our confidence. It’s the first through fourth. … That should make for a better story.”