‘We’ve got to be better overall’: Jaylen Brown searches for answers on Celtics’ failure to execute late in Game 5 collapse against Hawks
The Celtics committed five turnovers as the Hawks went on a 20-6 run in the final minutes to take Game 5 and extend the series.
The Celtics had a relatively smooth first 42 minutes in Tuesday’s Game 5 against the Hawks.
With 6:10 remaining, Jaylen Brown hit a 3-pointer to put Boston ahead 109-96, matching their largest lead of the game.
But things unraveled from there. The Celtics committed five turnovers and missed six of their final eight shots, allowing the Hawks to go on a 20-6 run that won them the game, 119-117.
One of the most common complaints of Celtics rookie coach Joe Mazzulla reared its ugly head during the final six minutes of Tuesday’s game. With 6:10 to go, the Celtics had four timeouts at their disposal.
They used one with 4:30 left when the Hawks cut their lead to eight. They lost a timeout with three minutes left because teams can only carry two timeouts into the final three minutes. Mazzulla used both of those timeouts, but they came in the final 10 seconds when the Celtics advanced the ball while trailing.
Brown was asked why he thought Mazzulla’s approach, which he’s described as making the Celtics play out of trouble, didn’t work on Tuesday. He didn’t seem to have an answer, but realized they have to do better in closing out games, timeouts or not.
“We pride ourselves as basketball players being able to make the right plays and adjustments. At times, we leave that up to the coaches to make that decision,” Brown said. “But, for sure, we’ve got to be better overall as a team, coaching staff and players, on getting organized in those moments whether we call timeouts or not.”
Tuesday’s loss also continued a bit of a worrying trend from last season’s postseason run. After sweeping the Nets in the first round, the Celtics blew key opportunities to beat the Bucks and the Heat in the ensuing rounds without having to play in Game 7s.
Brown isn’t sure why the Celtics haven’t had the knockout punch needed to wrap up a series recently.
“I’m not sure how to answer that question. I definitely can’t speak on the past,” Brown said when asked why he thought the Celtics take the more comfortable road instead of finishing. Today, we had a tremendous opportunity. We had control of the game for the most part.”
The Celtics’ sloppiness on offense allowed Trae Young to put on one of the top performances of his career. The Hawks star guard scored 16 of his game-high 38 points in the final quarter, including a 30-footer that won the Hawks the game with 1.8 seconds left.
“Trae Young put on a hell of a performance in the fourth quarter,” Brown said. “He made some 3s. The last one, of course, was a stinger. But all you can do is get ready for the next one.”
One thing Brown and his coach agreed on was the Celtics’ play down the stretch. Brown said that the Celtics made some “boneheaded plays, some fouls” that allowed the Hawks to get going. Mazzulla was pretty blunt when asked if his team lost their poise down the stretch.
“If you don’t win and you don’t execute then, yeah, you lost your poise,” Mazzulla said. “I don’t think we were trying to do too much. Just didn’t think we were poised and didn’t execute well.”
The Celtics will have another opportunity before they reach a must-win situation, holding a 3-2 series lead entering Thursday’s Game 6 in Atlanta.
Brown and the Celtics hope that Thursday will be the last effort they need to put the Hawks away and move on to the second round.
“Just be ready to go,” Brown said. “This is where you show what you’re made of, in moments like this. Whatever you got to do — receovery wise, mental wise — it’s over with now. There’s nothing you can do to get it back. We’ve got opportunities in front of us. So, let’s not lose those opportunities thinking about what happened last game.”
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