The Boston Celtics allowed a 30-point lead to slip away at the end of the first half, as the Atlanta Hawks cut it down to 18-points at the half and would go on to win the game by two-points.

The collapse began at the end of the second quarter for Boston. Head coach Joe Mazzulla called a timeout with 3:49 remaining and his team would only make two shots while also missing seven to end the half.

The Celtics ended the half scoring 74-points on 55/43/83 shooting splits. The team also had 17 assists in the first half, which is more than the first half average for the season (14.3).

It’s also worth noting that Boston didn’t start the game with a point guard on the floor, but Payton Pritchard started after halftime for the Celtics.

The second half resurfaced missteps and old habits that may have seemed to disappear as of late. But once again the Celtics fall victim to their own poor late game execution.

Jaylen Brown brought the ball up the court with one minute left in the game while looking at Mazzulla for direction along the way. Brown held the ball, danced around, and didn’t pass before chucking up a bad shot.

Jayson Tatum earned an eight-second violation with 8:26 remaining in the game while no one was guarding him. He carelessly did this in a one-point game that Boston once led by 30 and 18 at the half.

Tatum and Brown combined for 61-points, 12-rebounds, and six-assists. But they both had a poorly executed moment in the fourth quarter that is just inexcusable and it’s beginning to be worrisome considering the playoffs are right around the corner.

Also in the second half, the Celtics only made four assists after they dished out 17 in the first half while shooting 1-of-15 from behind the arc.

Boston started to relax and thought they could coast through the rest of the game and it ended up costing them.

The lesson to be learned here is to not play down to the opponent. Atlanta took advantage of the Celtics downplaying them and produced a comeback.

This game proved that Boston is coasting to the playoffs and they’re still making the same mistakes while still tinkering around with the lineups and rotations.

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Photo Credit: Kevin C. Cox, Getty Images