Celtics' Jayson Tatum shoulders blame: 'I need to be better' - ESPN

BOSTON — Celtics star Jayson Tatum shouldered the blame for his struggles over the first two games of the team's playoff series with the New York Knicks and vowed improvement for Saturday's vital Game 3.

«I take full ownership of the way that I've played in this series and can't sugarcoat anything,» Tatum said Thursday. «I need to be better and I expect to be a lot better.»

Tatum's jumper has abandoned him thus far in the series, he has made just 12 of 42 shots (29%) and has frequently settled for 3-pointers, where he is 5-of-20 (25%). He has only taken nine free throws in the two games and has eight turnovers, including on the final play of the Knicks' 91-90 victory in Game 2.

«Guys work really hard on their game and their craft and prepare to be in those moments to hit open shots, and it just hasn't happened the last two games,» said Tatum, who is part of a Celtics offense that has gone collectively cold and made just 25 of 100 3-pointers. «But you can't lose your confidence.»

Tatum and star teammate Jaylen Brown are a combined 2 of 19 shooting in the fourth quarters in the series. The Knicks have come back from 20 points down in the second half of both games and outscored the Celtics by 22 points in the final quarter thus far.

«It's a credit to [Tatum], I don't think that I appreciate the fact that he would [take responsibility], but I think it's on everybody,» Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. «We all could be better. I could be better. The things that I can help our team execute on our entire team can be better. And yeah, he can too. So just says who he is taking responsibility for that, and I expect him to be better.»

The Celtics met for a film session Thursday and one of the points of emphasis was for the team to