Celtics pay price for Williams dust up, Tatum’s cold finish in East finals Game 2 loss

By KYLE HIGHTOWER
AP Sports Writer

BOSTON (AP) — Grant Williams poked Jimmy Butler, Jayson Tatum went cold again in the fourth quarter and the Boston Celtics are staring at an 0-2 deficit in the Eastern Conference finals. Throughout the season, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla has trumpeted his team’s ability to respond with angry resilience following poor outings. They showed examples of it each of the previous two playoff rounds, buoyed big performances by their All-Stars in Tatum and Brown. Boston couldn’t do it in Game 2’s 111—105 loss to the Heat that saw Miami confound Tatum with its zone down the stretch. He finished with 34 points and 13 rebounds, but went 0 for 2 in the fourth quarter with two turnovers. He scored his only points in the final 12 minutes on five late free throws.