The Boston Celtics entered their Monday night contest against the Cleveland Cavaliers facing the legitimate possibility of losing their third game in a row for the third time this season. Playing without Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, and Robert Williams III, the shorthanded Celtics needed a huge performance from Jaylen Brown to lead the way against Donovan Mitchell and the Cavs.

However, while they got a solid performance from Brown, they were unable to claim a much-needed victory to stem the tide. Despite Brown's 32 points, 13 boards, and nine assists, the Celtics ended up losing 118-114 in overtime to extend their losing streak to three, thanks in no small part to Grant Williams jinxing himself on the foul line with a chance to win the game in regulation.

A glass half-full approach to this result would show that the Celtics, despite missing their best player in Jayson Tatum, went toe-to-toe with a full strength Cavs squad despite being on the second night of a back-to-back set. Nevertheless, Jaylen Brown is having none of that, as he's not content with looking at the bright side following another heartbreaking loss.

“There were key, vital plays that we missed, but we can’t blame fatigue. We came in, saying we’d win this. There are no moral victories in this s–t. We’ve got to be better,” Brown said in his postgame presser, per Brian Dulik of Associated Press Sports.

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With the postseason only over a month away, the Celtics will want to build strong habits, especially with every second of every game mattering in the playoffs. At the very least, suffering back-to-back dispiriting overtime losses to other contending Eastern Conference teams should motivate Jaylen Brown and company to be back at their best soon enough.

As a result of this loss, the Celtics have now fallen two games behind the Milwaukee Bucks in the race for the Eastern Conference one-seed. But at this point, the Celtics' focus will be on getting their groove back (like Jayson Tatum said) in preparation for the most important games of the season. They will have an opportunity to bounce back on Wednesday night, when they take on Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers at home.