In their biggest game of the season to this point, the Boston Celtics laid an egg in the fourth quarter. The Heat outscored the Celtics 26-9 to end Game 2 and grabbed a 116-111 win. Miami now has a commanding 2-0 lead in the series, and Games 3 and 4 will be in South Beach.

Many fans are pointing the finger at Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla for Boston's late-game collapse on Friday, but Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum wasn't. Following Boston's Game 2 loss, Tatum spoke to the media and passionately defended Mazzulla, per a tweet from ClutchPoints' official Twitter account:

“We got his back, he got ours. Joe [Mazzulla] ain't missing no shots tonight, he ain't have no turnovers. I missed shots, I had turnovers. Anytime we lose, I look at what I could've done better.”

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A newspaper as the background, Jayson Tatum on the other side with an injury kit in front of him, Joe Mazzulla and Jaylen Brown on the other side with a speech bubble that says "We got you!"
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Jayson Tatum, 25, is in his sixth year in the NBA, all as a member of the storied Celtics franchise. He averaged 30.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.7 blocks, 2.9 turnovers, and 2.2 personal fouls per game across 74 appearances this season (all starts).

The former Duke star shot the ball with great accuracy from the field in the 2022-23 campaign, at least by his standards — Tatum's 46.6% field-goal percentage was the second-highest of his pro career.

Tatum and the Celtics have a must-win Game 3 ahead of them on Sunday night. If they lose to Jimmy Butler and the Heat once again in Game 3, their season will be over, as no team in league history has come all the way back from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series.