The Celtics suffered one of their most embarrassing losses in recent memory on Tuesday, dropping Game 5 to the Hawks. Blown leads have been a problem for the Celtics for a while now, and this 119-117 loss was another frustrating example.
Boston led by as many as 12 with 5:24 remaining, before Atlanta would close the game on a 20-6 run. With the Hawks down their second-best scorer in Dejounte Murray, who missed the game due to a suspension, it was Trae Young that led the way for the Hawks.
Young finished with 14 points in the final 5:24, and knocked down three clutch threes, one of which was the dagger that gave Atlanta the lead with 1.8 seconds remaining.
“We had some boneheaded plays, some fouls,” Jaylen Brown said.
That they did. After totalling just four turnovers through the first three quarters, Boston turned the ball over five times in the fourth quarter, resulting in 10 points for the Hawks. Four of their five turnovers came in the final 5:24.
Fans will be quick to blame first year head coach Joe Mazzulla, and rightfully so. It felt like he got too cute in the fourth quarter. For some reason, Mazzulla turned to Blake Griffin in the fourth quarter, who had not appeared in a game yet this postseason. The decision to go to Griffin didn’t make sense on any level. The team has been rolling with an eight-man rotation so far this postseason, yet when they need to put the game away, they turn to Blake Griffin?
Another question that’s surrounded the first-year head coach is his handling of Boston’s closing lineups, which was also a problem Tuesday. Malcolm Brogdon was noticeably absent from the closing lineup for the Celtics, as Mazzulla turned to Marcus Smart and Derrick White.
Smart struggled big time. He finished with a team-worst -12 plus-minus in the fourth quarter and turned the ball over twice in the final 2:17 of the game.
When Brown mentioned the “boneheaded” plays and fouls, Smart’s failed attempt at a diving steal from Young — which resulted in a foul that sent Young to the free-throw line with 15.1 seconds left — was the first to come to mind.
It doesn’t help that Jayson Tatum was a no-show for the Celtics. Tatum finished the night with just 19 points on 8-for-21 (38.1%) shooting, going 1-for-10 (10%) from deep. He finished the fourth quarter with just two points, which came at the 7:06 mark.
Brown picked up the slack throughout most of the night for Tatum, as he finished with 35 points on 15-for-23 (65.2%) shooting, going 4-for-7 (57.1%) from deep. But when the team enters a tailspin the way they did in the fourth quarter on Tuesday, Boston needs No. 0 to step up.
Is there reason to panic? No, but this is a very frustrating loss, because Boston wasted a golden opportunity. With a win, they would have hosted Philadelphia in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semis on Saturday, which is noteworthy because the likely MVP, Joel Embiid, is nursing a right knee injury.
Regardless if the series goes six or seven games, the winner will meet Philadelphia on Monday night, meaning the loss just gave Embiid two more days to rest up and get healthy.
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