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BOSTON – The continuation of Boston’s nine-game winning streak was decided by mere inches Wednesday night, as the Celtics took the Detroit Pistons down to the wire only to have a Jayson Tatum game-winning, mid-range attempt clank off the back-rim, resulting in a 112-111 loss at TD Garden.
On one hand, it was a bitter way for the NBA’s hottest team to enter the All-Star break. But on the other, it’ll force the C’s to hold a sour taste in their mouths for more than a week, which should only add to their motivation as they’ll exit the break looking to build upon their recent success.
Despite playing on the second night of a back-to-back and being without both Marcus Smart (ankle sprain) and Rob Williams (calf strain), the Celtics felt that they let a win slip away.
In the middle of the fourth quarter, Boston went on an 18-4 run which flipped a six-point deficit into an eight-point lead. However, it couldn’t sustain Detroit’s physicality down the stretch, as Jeremi Grant and Saddiq Bey put the Pistons on their backs, closing out on a 14-5 run.
“It’s going to leave a sour taste, for sure,” head coach Ime Udoka said after the game. “Kind of look back and reflect on the things we did well over the streak, we didn't do it tonight. Defensively and even offensively, wasn't as crisp as we've been, but the effort was there overall.”
Al Horford has seen that effort rising over the past three weeks, and he doesn’t want it to disappear over the break.
“We should obviously take some time off, but there's got to be an edge to us coming back. That's kind of the mindset,” said Horford, who helped fill Williams’ void by logging 19 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, and two blocks.
“We have been playing good basketball – good basketball tonight, had a chance there. Coming back, we understand that we have to hold that standard and continue to play at a high level to continue to get better as a group ... Just looking forward to that second half once we get going, because this is when the fun starts."
Jaylen Brown, who has played the most minutes in the NBA since returning from a hamstring strain on Dec. 13, says he’ll be resting his body and mind throughout the All-Star break.
However, he’ll also be gearing up “to come back with even a more focused and aggressive mentality to get ready for the next game and leading up to the playoffs.”
He added, "I think when we get to those moments where everything is on the line, all our experiences that we have, being in tough, tight games, hopefully, when the biggest moments come, we’ll be able to stand tall.”
Boston’s been standing tall throughout the past few weeks after finally working its way out of a half-season-long stretch of inconsistency.
During that time, Horford says the team has established “an identity” on the defensive end, where it ranks first among all Eastern Conference teams, while also making strides in moving the ball better and spacing the floor more on offense.
Although they didn’t finish off their pre-All-Star stretch on a high note as they had hoped, there’s still plenty for the Celtics to look forward to coming out of the break based on their recent development.
“It would've been nice to finish it off the right way,” said Udoka. “But we’ve still got big things coming up.”