Celtics

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum took accountability for an off night, saying that he simply needs to play better after the Golden State Warriors took Game ...

"It's kind of on me to do that more often than not just to help my team in the best way that I can. "That's the ongoing theme, so to speak. "I just got to be better. "We obviously felt like we put ourselves in the position to win the game," said Tatum, who was 1-for-5 in the fourth quarter. Would we have liked to have won today and be up 3-1? "I think that's just as simple as it is," he said. That was certainly the case in Game 4, when Curry had 43 points, 10 rebounds and four assists and dominated every second he was on the court. Tatum has not played to the standard he has set for himself in this series. All of that, however, starts with Tatum, who earned MVP honors in the Eastern Conference finals and is the face of the Celtics franchise. I know I'm impacting the game in other ways, but I got to be more efficient, shoot the ball better, finish at the rim better. I got to be better. Tatum, along with the rest of the Celtics, short-circuited in the fourth quarter Friday night, making just two shots over the final seven minutes.

The Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics have announced their starting lineups for Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday night at the TD Garden in ...

- SHOULD THE BUCKS MAKE A TRADE? The Milwaukee Bucks lost Game 7 to the Boston Celtics, which officially ended their 2021-22 NBA season in the second-round. Robert Williams III had also been on the injury report as questionable with a knee injury, and he will play in the game and be in the starting lineup. Steph Curry, who had been on the injury report with a foot injury, will play in the game and be in the starting lineup.

The Boston Celtics admitted Friday night what everyone who watched Game 4 already knew: they were far too stagnant throughout Game 4.

Those two players and the Celtics as a whole now set their sights on getting igniting the offense when Game 5 arrives Monday night. They are oftentimes unguardable when the ball is popping from player to player, and when players are consistently cutting off the ball. They did not do either of those things on a consistent basis Friday night, and every player or coach who took to the postgame podium admitted as much. Jayson Tatum felt the brunt of that loading up Friday night, as he shot a woeful 4-for-15 from inside the 3-point arc. Boston’s recipe for success at the offensive end is ball and player movement. The Celtics lacked energy and movement throughout the game at the offensive end, which resulted in only 22 assists compared to 15 turnovers.

Here is a full list of celebrities, athletes, and VIPs at Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Celtics and Warriors in Boston.

Here is the full list of celebrities, athletes, and VIPs attending Game 4 between the Celtics and Warriors in Boston. Other celebrities, athletes, and VIPS Along with another strong contingent of former Celtics players, A-Listers set to take in the game include an Olympic gold medalist, a pair of Patriots players, and a former reality TV star.

While the Warriors showed their championship mettle down the stretch, Boston fizzled with only 6 points in the final 7 minutes, 32 seconds of Game 4.

We wanted to get the ball up quick and get into an offense. “Like Derrick [White] said, we got ball-watching the guy with the ball instead of just moving like we’ve been doing,” Smart said. The Celtics thrive on picking mismatches but they couldn’t find once to exploit. “We talked about the balance, how much we rely on him to score and get other guys involved. But we have to move. It was a laborious night for the Celtics offense, in a chance to take control of the NBA Finals, they were stagnant and unimaginative. Something has to change quickly or the Celtics will waste this precious opportunity against a team they have proved they can beat. The Celtics went for home runs and instead struck out. Sometimes that balance leads to taking some shots or over-penetrating when he has a clean pull-up or two. I think just quick decisions, don’t turn down any open looks, any daylight that I have, just continue to try to make the right pass. Smart implored his teammates to move and they didn’t, and he eventually forced a shot that missed. He tried attacking the rim to get fouls, but got no calls.

The Celtics led the Warriors 94-90 with five minutes remaining in Game 4 but then got outscored 17-3 in crunch time.

We've got to do a better job executing down the stretch, and that's the difference in the game right there." And a lot of times, it felt like we were standing around, unsure of who we were trying to go after, and it led to those stalled out possessions." Just a little more locked in down the stretch." Discussing the reasons for Boston's offense stagnating, Ime Udoka expressed: "Every time we got a five, six-point lead, it felt like we made some poor decisions, whether it was rushed shots in traffic or standing around, looking at each other. Between inactivity and missing quality shots when they created them, they couldn't fend off or keep up with the Warriors as Curry scored ten of his game-high 43 points, leading his team to a series-tying win. It's the highest point differential in an NBA Finals game in the last 25 seasons, according to ESPN Stats&Info.

The Boston Celtics couldn't hold off the Golden State Warriors and had trouble taking care of the basketball.

I think that’s kind of the beauty of it, that it’s not going to be easy. “But it’s the Finals. The art of competition, they came here feeling like they had to win. “I know I’m impacting the game in other ways, but I got to be more efficient, shoot the ball better, finish at the rim better.” “They went on a run early on in the third. “Whether it was rushed shots in traffic or ... standing around and looking at each other a little bit there." I got to be better,” Tatum said.

"Majority is over-penetrating, playing in the crowd, as I talk about quite often. Just not keeping it simple." In Game 1 of the NBA Finals, a win, the Celtics ...

Five months ago, in the huddle as a 24-point lead was evaporating at Madison Square Garden, Udoka urged the Celtics to "get our composure back" and "take care of the ball -- it's self-inflicted." As frustrating as it may be to see Boston make the same mistakes over and over again, look at the bright side: It doesn't have to keep coming up with new fixes! In the huddle on Wednesday at TD Garden, as an 18-point lead was evaporating in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Udoka asked the team, according to longtime Celtics scribe Steve Bulpett, "Will you stop playing like assholes?" The Celtics had watched the film of Draymond Green's cat-and-mouse game around the rim, and they knew their reads had to be better. Tatum said after Game 3 that they're now at their best "when we respond to tough situations, when we respond to teams going on runs." For us, it was just getting in the paint and making the right play. The beauty of Boston's offense is that, when it works, it really is that simple. Once the first domino falls, the Celtics are probably going to get a good look. In Game 1 of the NBA Finals, a win, the Celtics got wide-open 3s because their offense was "crisp and sharp." They know exactly what the opposing team is trying to do, and they simply need to be sharper: Make the right reads, take care of the ball. And guess what happened: The Celtics won, just like they have after all of their other postseason losses. They've lost seven games in the playoffs, and after each one, they've said they just need to get out of their own way.

Steph Curry produced a 43-point masterpiece Friday to will the Golden State Warriors to a 107-97 Game 4 victory over the Boston Celtics and level the series ...

"It's just special to watch what he does," Thompson added. "I mean, this was nearly a must-win game," Thompson told reporters. But it wasn't just his remarkable efficiency in front of a raucous Boston crowd that made this performance special.

With a few irrelevant seconds remaining on the clock and all matters in Game 4 of the NBA Finals at TD Garden Friday night settled convincingly in the ...

The Celtics could have had the Warriors on the ropes. They did beat Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks in Milwaukee in Game 6 and dethroned the champs in Game 7 in Boston. They did take Game 7 from the Heat in Miami. They win Game 1 of the Finals in San Francisco, but crumble in Game 2 when there’s a golden opportunity to take two straight on the road. Instead, they struggled individually and as a unit, and they were in command of nothing when the game was right there for the taking. Messing with the Warriors is a dangerous game. They lose Game 5 at home to the Bucks in the second round to fall behind, 3-2. They lose Game 6 at home to the Heat, assuring that the Eastern Conference finals would be decided on Miami’s court. They could have gone up 3-1 in the series, leaving them with three shots to close out the proud, recent three-time champion Warriors and claim their first NBA championship since 2008. By my accounting, one Celtics played what one would call “well” Friday night, and it was the Celtic who had the most legitimate reasons not to play well. It also happened to be one of the Celtics’ least aggravating decisions with the basketball late in their 107-97 loss to the Warriors, which evened this series at two games apiece and proved once again that the Celtics treat prosperity like an ill-fitting Christmas gift, something to be returned almost as soon as it is received. The Celtics could have had this. A power-dribble of frustration for the final scene?

Here are 10 stats to know following Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Celtics and Warriors. Read more on Boston.com.

The Warriors shot 7-of-24 in the first half and 8-of-19 (42 percent) in the second half. Boston has been up, down, even, and dealt with just about every situation in the playoffs, and the Celtics still haven’t lost back-to-back games. Wiggins finished with 17 points and a game-high 16 rebounds — setting his career high on the boards at a perfect moment. The Celtics totaled just three points the rest of the way, as the Warriors outscored them 17-3 to close the game. Curry’s brilliance was the main reason for the turnaround after Boston built a 54-49 halftime lead, but the Celtics didn’t do themselves any favors either. Boston shot 8-of-14 (57 percent) from distance in the first half and 7-of-24 (29 percent) in the second half.

Jayson Tatum dribbled right but ran into a Warriors double team. After retreating into a pick-and-roll, Tatum found himself isolated against Curry with the shot ...

“We just get ready for the next game. It left the Warriors with every reason to believe. Though the Celtics defended him well, Curry used their diverted attention to relocate for his seventh 3-pointer of the game: We just got to do a better job executing down the stretch. We have to do a better job.” “We just have to stay organized,” Brown said. “But I got to be more efficient, shoot the ball better, finish at the rim better. It’s the burden of stardom, especially this deep in the playoffs. When the Celtics did eventually pass half court, Tatum waited for his teammates to get in place to run a set. “I don’t feel like we executed as well as we did the previous game. “I think we just got way too stagnant late in the fourth from everybody.” The Celtics did it again.

Celtics' Jayson Tatum has averaged only 22 points and shot 34% in two losses to the Warriors. 'I just got to be better,' he said after a Game 4 loss.

“It’s kind of on me to do that more often than not just to help my team in the best way that I can,” he said. I think just quick decisions, don’t turn down any open looks, any daylight that I have, just continue to try to make the right pass.” In their two losses those numbers drop to 22 points per game and 34% from the field. “I just got to be better,” Tatum said after Golden State’s 107-97 win in Game 4 Friday night to tie the best-of-seven series. We’ve just got to move,” he said. It hurt most after the Celtics took a 94-90 lead, only to miss six consecutive shots during a 10-0 Warriors run.