The Boston Celtics started off slow on Tuesday against the Atlanta Hawks in the first NBA Cup game of the season resulting in a 117-116 loss at the TD Garden.

Boston saw 88-points between Jaylen Brown (37), Derrick White (31), and Jayson Tatum (20) but it wasn’t enough for the Celtics to earn the victory with only 16-points combined from Al Horford and Jrue Holiday and only 12-points from the bench.

Here are four takeaways from the game:

Slow Start

At the end of the first quarter, the Celtics starters made nine total baskets between three players and scored 28-points.

Boston almost had as many made free throws (8) as field goals (10) at the end of the first quarter.

During his postgame press conference, Derrick White said that the recent slow starts is from the starting group and that they need to play better.

Turnovers

The Celtics ended the game with 20 total turnovers. Jaylen Brown (6) and Jayson Tatum (5) combined for 11 while the starting lineup as a unit combined for 17.

During his postgame press conference, Brown said that himself and Tatum need to do a better job protecting the ball and spacing the floor.

Rim Protection

Boston allowed Atlanta to score 68-points in the paint, the most they’ve allowed any team to score on them this season.

Atlanta totaled 44 rebounds to Boston’s 34. It’s worth noting that the Hawks grabbed 19 offensive rebounds to the Celtics’ six.

Shooting Margins & Other Factors

The Celtics rarely lose on the shooting margins but they did in this one. Atlanta attempted 25 more shots, grabbed 11 more rebounds, and made nine more steals than Boston.

What’s Next?

This was the first night of a back-to-back for the Celtics. They travel to Brooklyn to play against a Nets team that took them to overtime just five days ago.

Tipoff is at 7:30 PM from the Barclays Center.

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Photo Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran