When the Celtics built their largest lead of the game by 22 points on the Cavaliers, it looked like the best team in the league was going to cruise to their 12th straight victory. But the Cavs and Dean Wade got hot and the C’s stopped executing, so they had to fight to the finish.
The Cavs ended up just having one more play as they shocked the Celtics in a 105-104 loss. The C’s had a chance for the win late, but Jayson Tatum took too long and his midrange jumper was off the mark. There was also a foul called on Darius Garland that was wiped away as the Celtics dropped to 48-13. Jaylen Brown spoke with some frustration after the loss, saying the C’s weren’t sharp enough mentally.
“We are a much better team than we showed today, and today was just a mentality loss, I think,” Brown said. “We had the game and then we got comfortable, so it was more of a mindset thing than Xs-and-Os. We gotta just be the more disciplined, the more militant team to be focused. We weren’t that — usually we are that — and we felt that today and I think that’s the reason why they were able to get back into the game, because our mindset was a little bit too lax and we were too careless with the ball.”
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The Celtics looked like their unstoppable selves with nine minutes left to go when they built that 22-point lead. But Wade caught on fire, hitting all seven of his shots, including 5-of-5 on 3-pointers, as he poured in 20 points in the fourth quarter by himself.
Still, the C’s only lost by a single point as there were plenty of opportunities to put the Cavs away earlier in the game. That’s why Brown blamed the Celtics’ mindset against a shorthanded Cleveland squad. The Cavs were without two starters in Donovan Mitchell and Max Strus on Tuesday. So while teams don’t look to relax after hearing injury news, Brown said it’s human nature to let that affect them.
While the Celtics suffered a setback Tuesday, it’s still just one data point even if it’s a brutal loss. The Cavs got hot while the C’s went and cold, which happens over the course of an 82-game season. But Brown didn’t want to use any excuses when he thought the Celtics still should’ve came away with the win.
“You put yourself in that spot when you don’t put a team away, don’t match the gas,” Brown said. “We should’ve matched the gas when we was up 22. We kind of let them hang around, it was cool, and comfort will kill you. And I think we needed that. I think that’s good, that keeps us on our toes and keeps us being able to learn and move forward.”
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