Celtics' Jayson Tatum, Joe Mazzulla diagnose top problem that led to Game 2 loss vs. 76ers

Celtics' Jayson Tatum, Joe Mazzulla diagnose top problem that led to Game 2 loss vs. 76ers originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Boston Celtics did not look like their formidable and championship-winning selves against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 2. Coach Joe Mazzulla and Jayson observed that their collapse in this NBA Playoffs game started before halftime. It is safe to say that they do not wish to repeat the same mistakes entering Game 3 of this series.

Mazzulla, Tatum blast Celtics' 2nd Quarter defense in NBA Playoffs loss to 76ers

After the first quarter, the Celtics still looked like the more dominant squad over the 76ers. Coach Joe Mazzulla saw his squad lead 28-25 before everything started falling apart. The 76ers would go on to have a 37-point outburst in the second quarter that proved to be lethal against the Celtics. By the end of this Game 2 NBA Playoffs bout, the lead was too insurmountable.

Coach Mazzulla knew that the Celtics' hopes of sweeping the 76ers in the NBA Playoffs flew out of the window right then, via Justin Turpin of WEEI.

“One of the ways you have to defend them is with offense. I thought we got great looks, thought we missed them… You have to be able to score in close games against a team like that, and they made more shots than us down the stretch," the Celtics head coach declared.

The Celtics ended up taking questionable shot choices as desperation mode hit after halftime. Nothing was falling and, by the end, they were left only knocking down 26% of their three-point attempts while having an overall field goal percentage of 39.3%.