The Boston Celtics found themselves back in the win column on Saturday in Phoenix after losing their previous two games in Cleveland and Denver.

In Cleveland, the Celtics invited the Cavaliers to a 20-point fourth quarter from Dean Wade, which propelled the Cavs to a 105-104 victory in a game that saw Donovan Mitchell sidelined with a knee injury.

The Celtics lost this game because of a poorly executed final play by Jayson Tatum with 18-seconds left on the clock. He walked the ball up the court taking 19 dribbles in that time to only dance around and take a bad shot in hope of hitting the game-winner buzzer beating shot.

Tatum’s shot was contested by Darius Garland who ultimately got in Tatum’s landing space on the final shot, but the foul was overturned and the game ended.

It seems like Boston was in the mindset of taking the last shot and ending the game, but perhaps having a play ready to go with adequate time on the clock to execute the play is the ideal method the Celtics should’ve gone for in that situation.

In Denver, Tatum essentially took a backseat to Brown and Kristaps Porzingis, who combined for 65-points. He finished with 15-points on 5-of-13 shooting and had four rebounds and eight assists. Tatum scored eight-points in the first quarter, zero in the second, two-points in the third, and five-points in the fourth.

The Celtics needed Tatum, or anyone, to step up and provide something alongside Brown and Porzingis. If Tatum played a normal game, it’s fair to say that Boston would’ve won this game. It’s also fair to say that they could’ve won this game if Brown made all of his free throws rather than going 7-of-14 at the line.

Jaylen Brown

Brown has been playing outstanding basketball post All-Star break. He’s averaging 28.1 points on 54.7 percent shooting, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. He’s playing more confidently and instinctively, which is allowing him to be more effective on both ends of the court.

Brown leads the team with 10.0 drives per game for 6.6-points on those plays. He’s also the best midrange shooter on the team, averaging 44.7 percent from that zone. He’s also taking the most shot attempts in the paint at 3.7 per game and making them at a 51.6 percent clip. He’s been great all around for Boston.

The one area of concern for Brown is at the free throw line. In the loss to Denver, he missed seven free throws in a game the Celtics lost by six-points. And in the win in Phoenix, he missed three more. After the loss in Denver, Brown said that he “felt good” and “in rhythm” when taking his shots at the line.

Luke Kornet

Luke Kornet has been great in his role. He scored 14-points off the bench in Phoenix on Saturday and was a big contributor to the overall victory. He continues to show he’s already ready and is a great backup to Porzingis and Al Horford.

After the game in Phoenix, head coach Joe Mazzulla praised Kornet by saying he’s the best at their defensive system. Kornet holds his own and can switch and be versatile while maneuvering well around the court.

Other Notes and Takeaways

• Porzingis missed Saturday’s game against Phoenix and will miss Monday’s game against Portland with a right hamstring tightness injury.
• Brown has been on the injury report lately with a sacroiliac strain, which is essentially a lower back injury. As I noted here, he takes a handful of falls landing directly on his lower back/ hip area per game.
• Tatum got back on track in Phoenix, scoring 29-points on 11-of-28 shooting with 10-rebounds and seven assists.
• Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser have been quiet lately, scoring only 13-points combined in Boston’s two losses (Pritchard didn’t score in Denver.).
• Boston’s next games are Monday in Portland, Tuesday in Utah, Thursday vs Phoenix, and Sunday in Washington.

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Photo Credit: Brian Babineau, NBAE Getty Images