BOSTON — For the second time in three games, the Boston Celtics took on the Atlanta Hawks. On Monday night, the matchup took place in Atlanta, but the Celtics were short-handed.
Jayson Tatum, who erupted for 32 points in Charlotte on Sunday, was out, as were Neemias Queta and Ron Harper Jr.
Jaylen Brown returned to the lineup after a two-game absence, but he didn't get off to a great start. In the first quarter, Brown's handle was loose, and most of the shots he usually makes weren't falling. He just seemed out of rhythm.
By the end of the first, Brown had already committed three turnovers. He scored six points on 2-of-7 shooting from the field. Brown went scoreless in the second quarter, adding a turnover to his stat sheet (but he did have six assists by halftime).
However, though Brown's offensive performance fell short, Luka Garza stepped up in a big way. Garza got the start in Queta's absence, and he made the most of the opportunity.
He got more chances to score than the usual put-back and top-of-the-key three-pointer chances he often thrives on. Boston gave him a bit more wiggle room to work.
At one point in the first quarter, as the Celtics were struggling to find an offensive flow, Garza got the ball with CJ McCollum on him near the free-throw line. Without thinking, he went to work, bullying McCollum into the paint and scoring a bucket.
Garza finished the half with 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the floor.
Payton Pritchard was right there alongside Garza. He had 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and 2-of-4 shooting from deep at halftime.
Atlanta took Boston's mistakes and ran with them. They finished the first half with 22 paint points to Boston's 10.
As the third quarter got underway, Brown took a new approach to finding his rhythm: Free-throw hunting. He attacked relentlessly, and within the first three minutes of the third, he had earned four free-throw attempts.
But he and the Celtics still couldn't find a rhythm. Missed free throws (two from Brown), fouls, and untimely turnovers cost them.
Two Onyeka Okongwu threes and 10 points in the paint were enough to lift Atlanta to a five-point lead by the 7:01 mark in the third. It was largely thanks to Garza and Pritchard's continued offensive contributions that Boston was even able to stay within striking distance.
That only worked for so long. Boston needed buckets, and it couldn't seem to find any. In the blink of an eye, Atlanta's five-point lead blossomed to 14 as it ran off Boston's missed layups and turnovers.
At the 11-minute mark of the fourth quarter, the Hawks got two straight offensive rebounds, and McCollum nailed a three. Then, after a Derrick White airball on the ensuing possession, McCollum nailed a floater. That gave Atlanta an 18-point lead, and Joe Mazzulla called a timeout.
The Hawks' offensive rebounding efforts continued to pile up as the fourth quarter unfolded. It seemed as though every time Boston got a stop with a chance to cut into Atlanta's lead, it couldn't corral the rebound.
When Atlanta called a timeout with 5:45 to go, it was up by 16. Mazzulla left Boston's core group on the floor, Brown included, for what was presumably one last comeback attempt.
The Celtics got a stop, and Brown threw down a dunk in transition. Atlanta up 14. They got another, and Garza made a bucket. Atlanta up 12. Quin Snyder, timeout.
After the break, the Celtics kept chipping away. Slowly but surely.
Then Brown came alive. He nailed two straight threes, and in an instant, Boston was only down by eight.
But the Hawks kept surging. A McCollum bucket put Atlanta back up by 10, and there just wasn't enough time left on the clock for a final Celtics surge. Atlanta picked up a 112-102 victory on its home court.
Big winner: On Sunday night, Garza looked closer to the Iowan version of himself than the impressive role player he has become. Or at least, he showed flashes of his collegiate self.
It wasn't a perfect performance from Garza. He still looked a step slow defensively, even on the defensive glass. But on a night when the Celtics desperately needed points, he gave them just that.
His screening, paint scoring, and effort on the offensive glass helped Boston keep things close during a game in which they clearly were not the better team.
If he can provide them with these types of showings down the stretch of the season (and perhaps into the postseason), the Celtics will benefit greatly.
Ouch, tough one: For three quarters, this may have been Brown's worst game of the season. It may have been his worst game in the last two seasons. And the mistakes he was making didn't seem to be related to the Achilles tendinitis that held him out for the prior two games.
For the most part, Brown just couldn't hold onto the ball. Even on plays that didn't result in turnovers, the ball slipped from his hands, disrupting Boston's offensive rhythm.
Brown's shots weren't falling, and despite efforts to get to the charity stripe in the third quarter, he couldn't produce enough points to lift the Celtics up on offense.
His playmaking was solid at times, and he caught fire late in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't nearly enough on Sunday night.
The big picture: A lot of the Celtics' biggest issues pop up when they aren't able to get into their preferred style of offense.
If Brown (or Tatum or Pritchard or White) doesn't have it going, then it's harder for the Celtics' role players to get clean looks. Garza scoring in bunches only helps so much. The Celtics need guys to create advantages.
And when they have to play against a set defense over and over and over again, it gets hard to find a consistent rhythm.
The game is very connected. Bad offense leads to bad defense, and Boston's lack of offensive rhythm caught up to them on Sunday night. Just as it has in some recent tough losses.