Celtics star Jayson Tatum stresses need for improvement after Game 1 loss to Miami

Jayson Tatum finished with 30 points and seven rebounds for the Celtics but failed to attempt a field goal in the fourth quarter as the hosts fell to a gritty and determined Miami Heat side.

“We’ve got to play with more pace,” Tatum said.

 “I think in the third quarter, we kind of played too slow, mainly because we weren’t getting stops. In the fourth quarter, we made a couple runs, got to push the ball, and those go hand in hand with getting stops and getting out in transition. 

So, it starts on the defensive end. Just play with some more pace, play a little bit faster.”

While the Celtics have shown time and again that they can come back from tough situations, they do not have much margin for error going forward. 

Tatum and co will look to bounce back on Friday night at the Garden for Game 2.