The Boston Celtics’ 11-game winning streak ended on Tuesday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
After leading by 16 going into the final round, the visitors “didn’t mash the gas,” according to Jaylen Brown. Taking their foot off the gas resulted in slow rotations and late games, as the hosts hit 8/11 threes in the fourth quarter.
Leading the charge was Dean Wade, who erupted for 20 points in the last 12 minutes, hitting all five shots from beyond the arc and going 7/7 from the field.
After his put-back jam on Darius Garland’s missed basket, Cleveland, which had trailed by 22 in the fourth quarter, led 105-104 with 19 seconds left.
After the Celtics took their time moving the ball up the court and they and the officials ignored Joe Mazzulla’s demand for a timeout with 4.6 seconds left, Jayson Tatum appeared to win a trip to the free-throw line with his team down one with 0.1 seconds on the clock.
“Garland closes in front of Tatum and avoids making contact as he releases his jump shot attempt. Following the release, Tatum makes marginal lower-body contact with his partially extended right leg. Additionally, the contact from Tatum’s right leg does not remove Garland from the game, and neither an offense nor a shooting foul is called. At the time of the whistle, neither team has immediate possession of the ball, and play resumes properly with a jump ball at the center circle.”
That jump ball occurred with 0.7 seconds left. Boston won the tip, but the clock expired before it could call a timeout.
The NBA also determined that was the correct no-call.
“The game clock expires as White (BOS) secures possession, and Coach Mazulla (BOS) signals for a timeout after the game has ended.”
“Just a weird way to end the game,” Tatum said following the Celtics’ 105-104 loss. “But they usually say that the last play does not determine whether the game is won or lost. There were several things we didn’t accomplish well in the fourth quarter that put us in that situation.”
Just as the Celtics had to swiftly turn the page after defeating the Golden State Warriors by 52 points on Sunday, they face a potential NBA Finals preview against the Denver Nuggets on Thursday.
“I look forward to us responding,” Tatum said from the platform, confident in his team’s ability to recover and face a more major challenge.
