Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics put together arguably their most embarrassing performance of the Tatum-Brown era in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat.
Even calling it a performance, in fact, might be putting it nicely. Tatum, a two-time All-NBA First Team selection, didn't have much to offer after Boston's 128-102 defeat at Kaseya Center.
"Tonight was tough," Tatum told reporters, per ASAP Sports. "I think from the beginning of the game, we were turning the ball over. We didn't shoot the ball well. They shot the ball extremely well. Just kind of felt like we never recovered, honestly. That's on all of us as a unit. We didn't play well at all. Obviously by the score, it showed."
The Celtics trailed by double digits in the first quarter and faced their largest halftime deficit (15) of these playoffs despite closing the period on a 9-2 run. From there, Miami capitalized on Boston's empty third-quarter possessions and extended its lead to 33 points with Boston's starters in the game.
It was over from there in large part because the Celtics showed little desire or will to win.
Tatum scored 14 points on 33% from the field (6-for-18) while making one of his seven attempts from long range. The Green, a team so reliant on the three, shot 26% from beyond the arc.
"Yeah, I didn't shoot the ball well at all tonight," Tatum said. "But I think we got some open looks, coming off the pick-and-roll, getting doubled, hitting over the top, playing four-on-three. We just didn't shoot the ball well at all. We couldn't hit anything.
"Give them credit; they're a really good defensive team. They play hard, they communicate. But we had a lot of open looks tonight that we normally make."
The Celtics now are on the brink of elimination after completely unraveling in what felt like a must-win contest.
"Yeah, just being transparent, it's unfortunate. We obviously wanted to come out and perform better, play better, have a different outcome, or at least give ourselves a chance," Tatum said. "It's tough. For whatever reason, we didn't have it tonight. At this point of the season, you don't want to say that, but that's on us. As a unit, we didn't play well."
Boston's win-or-go-home Game 4 in South Beach is scheduled for Tuesday night at 8:30 p.m. ET.
