All the fourth-quarter turnovers, all the key missed rebounds, all the Tyler Herro buckets, and the Celtics still sounded just as bothered by their first half Wednesday night.
Jaylen Brown said his team came out “flat.” Kemba Walker couldn’t explain why. Brad Stevens thought Boston just wasn’t crisp enough early. In Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, with a chance to tie the series, the Celtics served up a rotten first two quarters. They only trailed by six points at halftime, but the scoreboard — which at the end of the night read Heat 112, Celtics 109, for a 3-1 Miami series lead — can be overly complimentary at times.
“For whatever reason,” Stevens said. “we felt our first half just wasn’t as good as it has been.”
The Celtics had dominated first halves in the series. They had built double-digit leads in each of the first three games. In Game 4, their offense broke down before halftime.
