The Boston Celtics lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 105-92, on Sunday afternoon as they fell apart in the second half after having a 10-point lead at the half.

In the second half, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, and Sam Hauser didn’t score at all, but it’s Brown that is receiving the most criticism from the fans.

In the first half, Brown scored 21-points on 8-of-12 shooting with three rebounds and three assists in 20 minutes. Although he didn’t make anything, he only took three shots in the third quarter and four in the fourth quarter, finishing 8-of-19 overall.

I saw a lot of “Brown shouldn’t be taking more shots than Tatum.” But that’s not really what happened in OKC. Jayson Tatum finished with a similar line to Brown of 26-points on 7-of-17 shooting with 10 rebounds and one assist.

Brown wasn’t the only one to go scoreless in the second half. He did lead the way in the first half and still played solid defense in the second despite being cold on offense.

It’s worth mentioning he had three turnovers, but that wasn’t even the most on the team and he even had the same amount as White.

Why is Brown getting so much hate from the fans?

Here is more news, notes, and takeaways from the Celtics:

• Kristaps Porzingis on Celtics falling apart in the second half in OKC: “Once they turned up a little bit in the second, we played stupid, and we just gave some possessions away.”
• Joe Mazzulla emphasized spacing being the issue in OKC. He’s using more double-big sets as Boston’s wing position is thin behind Sam Hauser.
• Jayson Tatum took a hard fall diving for a ball in OKC, bruised his forearm.
• Jaylen Brown is dealing with a shoulder injury.
• Maine Celtics Ron Harper Jr. received a two-way contract from the Detroit Pistons. He’s played great in Maine, averaging 22.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game in the G League regular season.
• Derrick White and Jordan Walsh are on the injury report with non-covid illnesses and are questionable for Tuesday’s game in Denver.
• Brad Stevens should be active at the trade deadline.

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Photo Credit: Jesse D. Garrabrant, NBAE Getty Images