The Celtics blew a 30-point lead and lost 120-118 to a Hawks team who was missing seven players and Jayson Tatum has given his thoughts.
Tatum put up 37 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the league-leading C’s and his running mate Jaylen Brown also scored 24 points.
The forward was disappointed his team couldn’t get the job done.
“It’s tough,” Tatum said. “You want to win every game you play. People think we never should lose. We was up a lot. We f*cked the game up, and we know that. We’re all adults and professionals, and we know we didn’t do the things necessary to win. That’s sometimes easier to fix when you know if you do the right things, and play the right way, the way you’re supposed to, you know usually what the outcome is going to be.”
Of course, the Celtics are allowed to lose, but it’s the way the franchise has choked leads away which raises concerns for the postseason.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said his team paid the price for not locking the game away earlier and explained how Atlanta’s physicality was part of his side’s downfall.
“It’s a good lesson,” Mazzulla said. “Credit to them for battling back. I thought their physicality. They were extremely physical as soon as the ball got past half-court. I thought that messed up our offense, and they made us work for everything.”
The Hawks mounted a comeback that began with a 9-0 run to end the first half.
Atlanta then fought hard in the second half and claimed their first lead of the night when Wesley Matthews shot a three to make it 97-96 with 9:42 remaining.
Clint Capela’s rebound shot with 9.4 seconds to play was the nail in the coffin.
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