Jayson Tatum opens up on last possession of Boston Celtics' loss - "I ain't got no ego, I'm just trying to win"
In a back-and-forth fourth-quarter finish between the Boston Celtics and the Utah Jazz, All-Star Jayson Tatum had this to say about the final play, which resulted in a loss for the Celtics:
"I ain't got no ego, I'm just trying to win. Joe [Mazulla] can draw up a play for me, but there's other options...I'm not mad that Grant [Williams] took that shot & didn't pass it to me. It's basketball," Jayson Tatum said.
Coming off a back-to-back second night, Jayson Tatum only had 15 points in the ball game on 4-12 shooting as he struggled all night, along with being scoreless in the second half.
Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics suffered a disappointing loss(117-118) against the Utah Jazz
The Boston Celtics won two straight games ahead of their back-to-back match-up against the Utah Jazz. At one point in the ball game, Jayson Tatum and the Celtics were up by 19 points against the Jazz and even managed to be in the lead for most of the fourth quarter.
With 49 seconds remaining in the game, Jayson Tatum missed the go-ahead fadeaway jumper, and the Utah Jazz secured the rebound which resulted in a bucket from Horton Tucker, giving them a 1-point lead.
The Boston Celtics went for a 2-for-1 play with a pull-up shot at the 3-point line from Jayson Tatum but ended up missing the shot. The team did get a defensive stop at the other end but suffered some miscommunication in executing the final play of the game, resulting in a blocked Grant Williams' shot at the rim.
The Boston Celtics were without two of their starters in Marcus Smart and Al Horford as Jaylen Brown led the team in scoring with 25 points on 9-17 shooting. Brown also dished out 6 assists and secured 4 rebounds. Grant Williams followed up with 23 points and made 7 three-pointers in the game.
In terms of rebounding, the Celtics were outrebounded by the Utah Jazz. The Jazz had 56 rebounds and 17 offensive rebounds, while the Celtics had 40 rebounds and only 5 offensive rebounds. With two of their starting big men out due to Al Horford's load management and Robert Williams III's injury, the Celtics' struggles on the glass are understandable.
The Utah Jazz had 10+ rebound contributions from three of their players in Lauri Markannen (10 rebounds), Kelly Olynyk (13 rebounds), and Walker Kessler (14 rebounds). As for the Boston Celtics, their leading rebounder was Luke Kornet with 7 rebounds, while the rest of their backup bigs only secured fewer rebounds.
It was a huge loss for Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics (49-23) as they have fallen to the third spot in the Eastern Conference standings and are now behind the Philadelphia 76ers (48-22).
The match-up was the 5th game for the Celtics on their long road trip as they have a chance to end the trip on a high note against the electric Sacramento Kings on Tuesday.