The Boston Celtics are just one loss away from elimination after losing Game 4 to the Miami Heat, and Jayson Tatum took full responsibility for his scoreless first half in the loss, saying that he needed to be more active out of the gate to give his team a chance to win Wednesday night.
“I wasn’t aggressive enough,” Tatum told reporters. “I didn’t score in the first half. That’s unacceptable. So I knew I had to play better, and that’s what I tried to do.”
Despite Tatum’s struggles, the Celtics were only down six at halftime and had cut that lead to four heading into the fourth quarter. And while Tatum did not put up any points in the first 24 minutes of the game, he came out plenty aggressive in the second half, scoring 28 points while almost leading the Celtics to a comeback win that would have tied the series at 2-2.
However, his effort fell short thanks to an all-time performance from Tyler Herro, who scored 37 points and made several big shots to seal the game for the Heat. Now needing to win three straight games to avoid being sent home, Tatum gave a straightforward explanation for what the Celtics need to do to stay in the series.
“Simple answer is just we’ve got to be better,” Tatum said. “We know what’s at stake, we know what’s on the line, and we’ve got to play a complete game.”
Game 5 will be played on Friday, Sept. 25 at 8:30 p.m. ET.
