Celtics slammed for getting 'complacent' in Game 2 loss

The Celtics entered Thursday's Game 2 against the Cavaliers as -12.5 favorites. And they seemed on track to cover the spread midway through the second quarter until Donovan Mitchell's team punched back. 

With their stunning 24-point win, the Cavaliers registered the largest victory by a double-digit underdog in the playoffs since 1990-91, surpassing the Rockets' 13-point win over the Jazz in 1998. 

Did the Celtics take their foot off the gas in the second quarter? That's the consensus among ex-Celtics players such as Eddie House, Brian Scalabrine and Kendrick Perkins. 

"What happened was we just didn't guard. We just got complacent on the offensive end," House lamented on NBC Sports Boston's postgame show. "I just didn't like our defense — I didn't like our effort, I didn't like our mindset, I didn't like the way that we came out and attacked this game. Cleveland looked like a desperate team and we looked like we were just going through the motions."

Scalabrine was particularly critical of Boston's defense, which allowed Cleveland to shoot a mind-boggling 46.4 percent from three and 54.7 percent overall. "The White Mamba" was shocked at Boston's perimeter defenders not closing out on Cleveland's shooters, especially in the second half. 

"There was no heart today," Scalabrine said of Boston's effort in Game 2. "They were just playing rather than trying to win. Winning basketball, your back is against the wall — I didn't see much of that today. No force, no purpose."

Perkins, meanwhile, worries about Boston's insistence to stick by its "live and die by the three" formula that cost it dearly on Thursday. The Celtics shot a paltry 8-of-35 from distance and refused to alter their game plan even as their shooters continued to miss. 

"It's the [lack of] sense of urgency. It's the laidback attitude," Perkins told ESPN on his issues with Boston's loss. "It's the same old story — they keep firing up three-point shots. You got 8-for-35 and at what point do you say, 'Let's figure something else out.' You got two of the best athletic wings in the league [Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown] and you refuse to attack the paint and put pressure on defenses."

The C's similarly suffered a Game 2 loss in their first-round series against Miami before winning three in a row to advance in the playoffs. Will history repeat itself? It's hard to bet against a team that has notched up the most 25-point wins in NBA history.