Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Celtics Discuss Getting Outscored 35-14 in Third Quarter of Game 2 of NBA Finals: 'It's something that we have to fix'
The Warriors have a reputation for outperforming their opposition in the third quarter. They usually come out of the break with tremendous energy, propelling runs that, if a team doesn't stem the tide, can sink it to depths from which it can't come back.
That's what the Celtics experienced on Sunday. The Eastern Conference champions were outscored 35-14 in the third frame of their 107-88 loss in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
And after a 6-0 run by Golden State to start the fourth quarter, with Boston trailing 93-64, Ime Udoka called a timeout with 10:45 remaining so he could empty his bench. That comes on the heels of the Warriors outpacing the Celtics 38-24 in the third period in the series opener.
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
After the game, Jayson Tatum, who led Boston with 28 points, attributed what happened in the third quarter to "turnovers, and I think sometimes letting our offense affect how we defend."
Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Jaylen Brown, who registered 17 points and six rebounds but only scored four points after producing 13 in the first frame, relayed: "I don't know the answer," adding: "We've just got to come out and play basketball for 48 minutes. We do the best we can every single night, and it's gotten us to the Finals. We're not a perfect team, but we'll figure it out going forward."
Brown went on to say: "We know the Warriors are a third-quarter team; we talked about it. They still came out and were able to go on a run. We've just got to be able to answer, and we didn't tonight."
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Al Horford, who produced two points, eight rebounds, and one assist, not attempting a single three after scoring a game-high 26 points and shooting 6/8 from beyond the arc in the series opener, expressed: "It's something we have to fix; that we have to address."
Horford added: "Have to go back and look at the film, look at the third again, look at the whole game really, but really look at the third. And we need to find ways to be better. They do a good job in the third, and we went through a stretch in the season where we were doing pretty good in the third as well. Look at that film and be better, and I think that we can; it's a mindset."
Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Derrick White, who followed up his 21-point performance in Game 1 of the NBA Finals with 12 points and four rebounds, conveyed: "It's definitely frustrating. We talk about it pretty much the whole postseason. It's easy to talk about it, but we've got to go out there and change something. That was a big quarter for them and really the quarter that put us away."
Further Reading
The Anatomy of the Celtics' Fourth-Quarter Comeback in Game 1 of NBA Finals
What Stood Out in Game 1 of the NBA Finals: Celtics' Take Series Opener with Fourth-Quarter Haymaker
Tony Parker Sizes Up the NBA Finals, Talks Ime Udoka and His Collaboration with MTN Dew LEGEND
