NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CELTICS VS. HEAT

May 17, 2022

Jayson Tatum

Boston Celtics

Game 1: Postgame

Heat 118, Celtics 107

Q. Jayson, during that run in the third quarter, felt like Ime was really digging into you guys during the timeout, Marcus said some words. What gets said in situations like that?

JAYSON TATUM: Just try to regroup, re-gather and not let it snowball like it did, myself included. I had too many turnovers. I've got to play better in those situations. But just try and regroup in those moments.

Q. Jayson, you guys overall had eight turnovers in that quarter. How much did they get into you? Did they speed you guys up? From your perspective what happened?

JAYSON TATUM: Yeah, they came out -- obviously they was down at halftime, so they came out playing hard in the third quarter. You know, it's on me. I had six, seven turnovers. Just knowing that I've got to take care of the ball better, especially in those situations when they're going on runs like that.

Q. Jayson, you were obviously in such a great rhythm in the first half, both you and the team as a whole. Was it just as simple as their physicality getting you guys out of sorts, or did anything else cause the way things played out in the second half or in the third quarter to play out the way they did?

JAYSON TATUM: I mean, yeah, they came out -- I give them credit, they played hard. They played fast during the second half. I think we just kind of went away from what was working in the first half. That's just something we've got to be aware of on Thursday.

Q. When you were going up against Giannis and KD in the first two rounds, those were guys that were kind of in the middle of everything all the time, where Butler likes to sneak in between and hide, like when he picked off those swing passes, how different of a challenge has it been for you to deal with someone where you have to figure out where he is on the court rather than keep your eyes on where he is all the time?

JAYSON TATUM: Yeah, I mean, they do propose different challenges, I guess. Just as a team, they've got guys that are really good defenders, play the passing lanes. We knew that coming in. Didn't do a great job, obviously, with the turnovers. But watch some film tomorrow and make some adjustments.

Q. Jayson, you guys are one of the best third-quarter teams during the regular season, but that's changed the past couple weeks. What specifically has changed there for the third quarter?

JAYSON TATUM: I think we've just got to come out with a little bit more sense of urgency in the third, and that's just on all of us. It's a choice that we have to make.

Q. Jayson, you mentioned that first game. How much of an adjustment do you find it to be in this series here with Milwaukee and now with Miami, and what kind of lessons do you learn that you can take into Game 2 and what do you expect from your guys in Game 2?

JAYSON TATUM: Expect us to play better, expect myself to play a lot better. But we've got to watch some film tomorrow and digest what happened and areas that we can improve on and learn from after we watch film tomorrow.

Q. Was there any tape that you watched? I was curious how they defended Trae Young, how they defended James Harden before the series, was there anything you learned, if you did, from that?

JAYSON TATUM: Yeah, we watched highlights -- not highlights, but film of them offensively and defensively in the first two rounds of the playoffs. They're a really good defensive team. We knew that coming in. We know that now. It's not like we're surprised by anything.

Q. Jayson, we all know that no one wants to be outscored 39-14 in a quarter, no one wants to turn the ball over six times in a quarter. What's happening, and you know -- you're saying we're going to go back, we're going to change things. What's happening in those moments that allows it to get out of control, to snowball, like you said?

JAYSON TATUM: I think obviously I don't want to turn the damn ball over and [expletive] like that, but I guess throughout the course of a game, things happen, and they go on runs. That's what they did.

Throughout the course of the playoffs, we've done a great job of responding to runs after calling timeout, things like that. But for whatever reason we didn't today. I'll be the first one to say I'll take the blame for that. I've got to lead better. I've got to play better, especially in those moments. I'm just looking forward to responding next game.

Q. You seemed to pick whatever spot you wanted there in the first half, had a good connection going with Rob Williams. What really changed there in the third quarter? How much maybe did you feel or see the presence of Bam in the third as opposed to in the first half?

JAYSON TATUM: I think in those first six minutes, I think they got up like 11 shots to our three. We were just turning the ball over. We weren't getting opportunities at the rim. We weren't getting shots. I think that was the story in the third quarter.

Q. All that being said, you won every other quarter in this game; how do you feel leaving here tonight?

JAYSON TATUM: I mean, we still lost. But we lost the first game of the last series. It's a long series. It's cliche to say the first of four, all that good stuff. Get some rest, watch film tomorrow, just get ready for the next one.