The Celtics were held under 100 points for the second consecutive night in Tuesday’s 98-95 loss to the Miami Heat, in what was Boston’s first loss on the second night of a back-to-back this season.
The Celtics were shorthanded Tuesday night, as they were without Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Al Horford and Malcolm Brogdon, which gave way for guys like Grant Williams, Derrick White, Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard to see extended minutes.
Led by White and Jayson Tatum, the Celtics were able to build an eight-point halftime lead, as they would close the first half on an 11-0 run during which Tatum scored or assisted on three of Boston’s four made baskets over that stretch.
After a White three at the 9:12 mark in the third quarter, the Celtics would jump out to their largest lead of the game at 14. Miami would hang around, though, as the C’s lead would be cut to just seven heading into the fourth quarter.
Then disaster struck for the Celtics, as they would be outscored 23-13 in the fourth quarter. Boston shot just 5-of-21 (23.8%) in the fourth and went a full 6:21 without scoring a single bucket. The Celtics would miss nine consecutive shots during that stretch, as Miami would jump out to a 15-0 run and take the lead at the 5:03 mark.
The C’s would have plenty of opportunities down the stretch to retake the lead, but were unable to overcome the poor shooting and sloppy play. It’s been well documented throughout the season that Joe Mazzulla would rather let his guys play rather than taking a timeout, but with the offense struggling to execute and guys clearly dealing with fatigue, it feels like he definitely should have called one down the stretch -- especially when the Heat were in the midst of their mid-fourth-quarter run. Mazzulla opted to wait and call the timeout after Miami had tied the game.
In the end it was sloppy play that got the best of the Celtics. Boston would have a chance to tie or win the game on the final possession, but an errant pass from Tatum would be the difference maker.
Though they were shorthanded and on the second night of a back-to-back, this was a game the Celtics should have won. They got sloppy in the second half, turning the ball over 11 times, which led to 11 Miami points, and allowing eight offensive rebounds, leading to five Miami points.
Boston had a better shooting percentage than Miami, but allowed the Heat to get more looks by turning the ball over and allowing second-chance opportunities.
Winning the rebounding battle is so important to the Celtics. In games they out-rebound their opponent, they are 20-4. When they get out-rebounded, they are 12-10.
Turnovers have also been a real concern as of late for the Celtics, and that trend continued on Tuesday night. With 17 turnovers, the Celtics have now turned the ball over 15 or more times in each of their last four games. That is not going to fly if this team wants to make it back to the NBA Finals.