The Boston Celtics are no strangers to tight games this postseason, yet unfortunately, those close contests have rarely gone their way. The Green Team stormed back in the fourth quarter of Game 4 to force overtime against the Philadelphia 76ers, however, they came up just short in the 116-115 loss.

The series score now stands at 2-2, which is particularly frustrating for a Boston squad that held late leads in both of its losses. The C's will now return to Beantown ahead of a pivotal Game 5 on Tuesday night.

But before the tiebreaker, let's look at what adjustments the Celtics can make in the wake of their disappointing Game 4 defeat.

3. Limit second-chance points

In the first round of the 2023 playoffs, Boston struggled to keep the Atlanta Hawks off the offensive glass. As a result, the Hawks generated a lot of second-chance points that helped them extend the series. The Celtics still won in six, but some of those bad habits might have leaked into the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

During last night's loss, the Celtics allowed 22 second-chance points while only scoring nine of their own. Although they had 13 offensive rebounds to Philly's 12 — and have yet to be outrebounded on the offensive glass in a game this series — the Sixers got them when it mattered most.

For example, the C's were up three with about a minute to go in the fourth quarter and were very close to getting a potential game-winning stop. However, gritty veteran P.J. Tucker came up with a clutch rebound and tallied a 3-point play off of it to tie the game:

The Celtics' offensive rebounding hasn't been terrible, but it still has to be better. A little more playing time for Celtics center Robert Williams III could help with that. He played only 14 minutes in Game 4 even though his length would've been useful in the late stages of the contest.

Celtics veteran Al Horford got the majority of those center minutes instead, and while he had a solid game, it's not as easy for the 36-year-old to jump up for a rebound after already playing 30-plus minutes.

2. Use timeouts in important situations

First-year Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla has a complicated relationship with timeouts. In the regular season, he would largely neglect them, as he's a proponent of letting his team figure out things for themselves.

It seemed as if Mazzulla adjusted his hands-off approach a bit in the postseason. He's called multiple timeouts in the playoffs to stop runs, which was a rarity for most of the year. However, Game 4 was a return to old habits for the 34-year-old coach.

Late in the fourth quarter with the game tied, Mazzulla elected to not take a timeout on Boston's last possession. The C's were able to generate an open look for point guard Marcus Smart, but it just didn't fall:

While Boston produced a decent opportunity at the end of regulation, Smart isn't the guy you usually want taking that shot. And instead of changing it up in overtime, Mazzulla let the C's take their last possession of the game without calling a timeout beforehand. This decision was more disastrous, as Smart had the ball once more and was a split second too late on a deep attempt:

 

Of course, by deciding not to call a timeout, Mazzulla was likely trying to prevent the Sixers from subbing in a defensive lineup. But at the same time, no timeout means no set play and potentially more chaos.

If the Celtics are in a similar situation again this series a timeout late in the contest wouldn't be a bad idea.

1. Get Jaylen Brown involved late

Celtics star Jaylen Brown opened up Game 4 on a tear. He dropped 12 points in the first quarter and kept the C's alive while co-star Jayson Tatum struggled severely in the first half.

Conversely, Brown had just three shot attempts in the last 17 minutes of the game. In overtime, he had no shot attempts at all and no points. Although the Celtics' offense wasn't struggling late in the contest, having Brown involved could've helped. He even said after the loss that he should've called for the ball more:

The two-time All-Star finished with 23 points and five assists, but if the Celtics want to take Game 5 they'll need both of their stars contributing all night. The Sixers' MVP tandem of Joel Embiid and James Harden was dominant in Game 4, so Tatum and Brown will have to at least match them to keep the Celtics in it.