BOSTON – The NBA Cup tipped off in colorful fashion Tuesday night: first, it was all about green, then it was Brown and White, and finally ended with red.
The Celtics introduced a brand-new green court at TD Garden, where they began Group C action against the Atlanta Hawks. Jaylen Brown and Derrick White logged season highs of 37 points and 31 points, respectively, while both shooting well over 60 percent from the field. However, the Hawks capitalized on a massive offensive rebounding advantage to help them squeak by with a 117-116 win.
It was a promising game for Brown, in particular, being just two games removed from a four-game injury absence. His hip seemed to be back to normal, as he logged a 14-of-22 performance from the field.
DEEP in his bag 👜 pic.twitter.com/nssxynWB93
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 13, 2024
White had an outstanding shooting night, as well. He knocked down 7-of-12 from 3-point range, finishing one make shy of his career-high. He also tied the team-high in rebounds with six and handed out five assists.
Brown dominated the first quarter with 16 points. White owned the second frame with 12. And they both had stellar crunch-time efforts with White scoring 12 in the fourth and Brown logging 11. Neither missed a 3-pointer in the final frame, as White knocked down 4-of-4 while Brown canned 2-of-2.
BIG TRIPLE pic.twitter.com/tjwlrwB5Ne
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 13, 2024
It was the first time since 2014 that the Celtics had a duo score 30 points without either being Jayson Tatum, per NBC Sports Boston stats guru Dick Lipe.
However, Brown and White’s combined effort wasn’t enough to combat Atlanta’s stellar team performance. The Hawks dominated in several effort categories, owning a 16-7 advantage in the steals department, a 20-6 advantage in the offensive rebounds department, and a 68-32 advantage in paint scoring.
All of those second-chance opportunities enabled the Hawks to shoot the ball 25 more times than Boston (100 field-goal attempts to 75).
“You let a team outshoot you by a shot margin like that,” said head coach Joe Mazzulla, “and you’re not going to win.”
The turnovers were a complete anomaly. The Celtics entered the night averaging just 11.9 turnovers per game, the lowest rate in the Eastern Conference. Brown and Tatum, who combine to average fewer than five turnovers per game, coughed the ball up a total of 11 times.
Brown stepped up and took ownership of their slipups, vowing to be better moving forward.
“It’s uncharacteristic of us to have 20 turnovers in any circumstance,” he said. “I think that just displayed that we weren’t in sync like we normally are, so we’ve got to be better at that, and I’ve got to be better at that.”
They have plenty of time to get in sync with the season just underway. Brown is not worried about some of the team’s recent slow starts and the statistical abnormalities from Tuesday night, saying it’s all part of the journey.
“We’ve got some stuff to clean up. We’re not a perfect team,” Brown said. “It’s a new season, a new journey, and we’re looking forward to embracing those moments. We’re going to watch it and we’re going to address what needs to be addressed. We’ve got to be able to move forward. We can’t let it turn into a habit. We’ve got to be able to respond well.”
The Celtics will have a chance to respond right away, as they head into the second game of a back-to-back. They’re off to Brooklyn, where they will look to get back in the win column Wednesday night.
