Celtics collapse in Game 5 and now have to head back to Atlanta

BOSTON -- Closing time is still an issue for the Boston Celtics. And now they have to go play a Game 6 in Atlanta on Thursday night.

The Celtics let their foot off the gas and tried to cruise to a Game 5 win over the Hawks at TD Garden on Tuesday night. Boston led by 13 points with 6:10 to play, and then completely collapsed.

The Celtics slowed things down and played not to lose. They, in turn, lost, because they played on their heels to end the game. Boston made just three field goals after going up by 13 points.

Meanwhile, Trae Young went wild, scoring Atlanta's final 14 points over the last 3:18 of the game. He drained a 3-pointer from 30 feet out with 2.1 seconds left, with Jaylen Brown giving him a little too much room to hit a shot that everyone knows he can hit.

Brown said after the game that he though Young would drive, since the Hawks only trailed by one point. He added that the Celtics never should have been in that position in the first place.

The final minutes spoiled an otherwise stellar night from Brown, who had 35 points for Boston in the losing effort.

"Up 12 late in the fourth, we smoked the game," Brown said of the loss. "We had some bonehead plays, some fouls that gave them opportunities to get going. We have to finish the game. … We let the game get away from us. When you give a team life you leave it up to chance and that is what we did tonight."

The Celtics had a final chance -- two final chances, actually -- but their first inbound attempt was knocked away, leaving just 0.5 seconds on the clock. Jayson Tatum's last-ditch three came up well short, and the Celtics walked off the court shocked. 

Shocked that they didn't win. Shocked that they weren't moving on to the East semifinals. Shocked that they now have to head to Atlanta for another game on Thursday night.

Tatum was just 8-for-22 from the floor and an abysmal 1-for-10 from 3-point range. He finished with 19 points.

After Sunday's Game 4 win in Atlanta, Tatum spoke about lessons learned from last postseason's run, when the Celtics ran out of gas in the Finals because they struggled to close teams out in earlier rounds. For about 40 minutes on Tuesday, it looked like the Celtics had actually learned their lesson.

But then they let the inexcusable happen: They took their foot off the gas in an elimination game. All the Celtics had to do was keep pushing against the Hawks, and they'd be resting up for Game 1 against the Philadelphia 76ers and Joel Embiid's balking knee on Saturday night in Boston. 

Instead, they fooled around and found out. They got tight and lost any killer instinct they had earlier in the game. Now they have to pack their bags for Atlanta and play at least one more game against the Hawks.

"Our mindset and mentality is to get ready for the next one," said Brown. "We've been in situations like this before, which is unfortunate. You can look around and point fingers, or you can take ownership of the situation. We have two chances to win one."    

The Celtics should still win the series, but they continue to make their playoff path more difficult than it should be. The Celtics haven't learned their lesson from last postseason, and it may end up costing them again.