BOSTON — The Celtics had one of their toughest losses of the season on Monday night against the Jazz, blowing a 14-point first half lead against the Western Conference cellar dweller. The hosts allowed the Jazz to claw their way back into the game with a 38-point third quarter a sequence that left Joe Mazzulla making some telling comments about his team’s performance.
“Our first half was great, and I think the third quarter, they got the best of us, and they played harder than us,” Joe Mazzulla said. “It was a combination of just transition, offensive rebounds, and then some of their dribble-drive stuff, not being able to defend without fouling. So you have to be able to put a full game together. The first half was good. Third quarter cost us, and when it’s a close game like that, it’s anybody’s game.”
The Celtics shot a season-worst 20 percent from the field but the message from the Celtics coach after the loss was more focused on the effort than the execution.
“I mean, obviously missing and making shots makes things a little better, but just our effort just wasn’t acceptable, especially in that third quarter,” Derrick White said.
Boston is coming off a brutal five games in seven days stretch but they were also facing an inferior team that played a back-to-back in Charlotte on Sunday night. The second half letdown with the rest advantage left White searching for answers.
“I don’t know exactly what happened, but bad communication, bad rotations,” White said. “They kind of did whatever they wanted that quarter and like, that’s been, kind of like the whole year, there’s always been that one quarter that seems to get us.”
The Celtics will need to turn things around quickly with one day off before hosting the Wizards on Wednesday ahead of a tough Orlando road trip this weekend.
“Just gotta figure out a way to play for 48 minutes,” White said. “It’s simple. I mean, it’s not simple, but that’s what we have to do.”
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