"No satisfaction whatsoever," Celtics not satisfied with split as NBA Finals move to Boston
BOSTON -- The Celtics did their job in San Francisco, earning a split against the Warriors to steal home-court advantage in the NBA Finals. But the Celtics don't feel that way after getting embarrassed in Game 2 on Sunday night.
For the first half of Sunday night, it felt like the Celtics were just a few adjustments away from doing the unthinkable: Going up 2-0 on the Warriors after taking the first two games of the NBA Finals on Golden State's home floor. The Celtics were down by just two points at halftime in Game 2, and if they if they stopped giving the ball away, they would have a great opportunity to win the game.
But that didn't happen, and it led to the Celtics getting absolutely annihilated when they came out of the locker room. The Celtics were outscored 35-14 in an embarrassing third quarter, and now the series is knotted up at a game apiece.
Just about everyone would have taken a split in Golden State before the series tipped off. The Warriors were undefeated on their home floor heading into the NBA Finals, and the Celtics changed that by taking Game 1 with an epic fourth quarter.
Expecting a Game 2 win from Boston would have been gluttonous. At least from a fan perspective. But the Celtics themselves were expecting as much, and they certainly aren't pleased with their performance in Game 2.
Letting a team completely outmuscle you for most of the contest, while also turning the ball over 19 times, will do that. So don't tell the Celtics that they did their job with a Game 1 win. That isn't going to fly with them after a dreadful final 24 minutes of Game 2.
"We look at it as a disappointing loss in Game 2, a game we didn't play up to our potential or our standard. Regardless of what happened in Game 1, that is behind us," head coach Ime Udoka said after the defeat. "We had opportunities to play much better."
Udoka said that the Celtics weren't strong with the ball and they went hunting for fouls too much in Game 2. That led to the team's downfall on Sunday night, and Udoka's players feel the same way.
"No satisfaction whatsoever. Each game is its own thing," Jaylen Brown said after the Game 2 loss. "No satisfaction winning one, and no satisfaction, obviously, tonight. We take it, we learn from it and we get ready for the next one."
Cutting down on their turnovers, which led to 33 Golden State points on Sunday, will be the team's major focus over the next few days.
"We have to be better next game," said Jayson Tatum, who had four turnovers in Game 2. "The games we have high turnovers result in a loss, so that will be a point of emphasis next game."
"For whatever reason, that happens to us. In our wins we don't turn it over, but in our losses, we turn it over excessively," said Al Horford. "I know we can prevent a lot of those. In order for us to have a better chance at winning, we have to cut those down."
The Celtics aren't hanging their hats on a Game 1 win, so they probably won't care to hear that they're 6-0 following a loss this postseason. (Or that the Warriors are 3-4 on the road.) But Boston has been great at bouncing back during the playoffs, in large part because they identify and fix the mistakes that plagued them in the previous game.
They'll have to do that again if they want to retake control of the series when the Finals shifts to Boston on Wednesday night.