The Boston Celtics did not know what hit them in the third quarter of Game 1 against the Miami Heat. The C's were completely outplayed by their opponents en route to a 39-14 quarter. In the end, the Heat managed to draw first blood in the series after a 118-107 victory.
After the loss, Celtics star Jaylen Brown sounded off on the injuries of teammates Marcus Smart and Al Horford. Both starters were unavailable for Game 1 and by his own admission, Brown said that Boston was not equipped to battle the Heat with such a shorthanded lineup:
“We definitely wasn't prepared to be without Al and Smart. It's not an excuse, we gotta be better,” Brown said (h/t Celtics on NBC Sports Boston on Twitter).” We still had control of the game in the first half. We lost control in the third quarter a little bit. We just got to be better.”
"We definitely wasn't prepared to be without Al & Smart. It's not an excuse, we gotta be better."
Jaylen Brown on playing Game 1 without Marcus & Al pic.twitter.com/1lH5D1FoX9
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) May 18, 2022
Brown made it abundantly clear, however, that he wasn't making any excuses for the loss. As he said, they just lost control of the game in the third period and they were never able to recover from Miami's haymaker. The Celtics tried to make a game of it in the fourth, but it was too little, too late of an effort from Brown and Co.
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