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The Miami Heat had 20-year-old rookie Tyler Herro to thank as they beat the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Boston Celtics now trail 1-3 to the Miami Heat and are staring at an exit from the NBA bubble. This NBA news update features the reaction of Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens and the players, including Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Kemba Walker, in their respective post-game conferences.
The game also concluded a few hours after the verdict given out by the grand jury on the shooting of Breonna Taylor, where the cops involved escaped no major charges. Many of the players on display tonight were staunch supporters of the movement that was meant to bring justice to Taylor, so the post-game conferences were dominated by talk related to the verdict.
NBA News Update: Jaylen Brown not surprised with the Breonna Taylor verdict, Kemba Walker at a loss for words
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While their loss to the Miami Heat in a crunch Game 4 which saw them go down 1-3 in the series was certainly on their mind, there were more important matters at hand for Boston Celtics stars Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker.
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Jaylen Brown, in particular, was actively pursuing justice for African-American people who had been victims of racial discrimination of late. He addressed the Breonna Taylor verdict and said it did not surprise him given the society we live in.
“I wasn’t surprised by the verdict. This society — the way it was built — the intention was never to protect and serve people of color initially.“
Brown also believes that the Breonna Taylor case is far from a one-time thing as has already been proved, adding that the society itself needs to change its mindset for the situation to improve.
“Until we dismantle, recreate or change this system that we have, it will continue to have victims like Breonna Taylor and others that fall victim to oppression.”
Teammate Kemba Walker, too, was devastated on hearing about the verdict and couldn't help but feel for the family of the victim.
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NBA News Update: Jayson Tatum puts the blame on himself for Game 4 loss
There is no doubt that Jayson Tatum is the go-to man for the Boston Celtics. The 23-year-old is a star in the NBA already and is his team's most reliable scorer. Tatum ended Game 4 with 28 points and 9 rebounds on 10-22 shooting. These numbers are by no means poor but it is the skewness behind them that proved to be a problem.
Jayson Tatum actually went scoreless in the entire first half as he missed all six of his attempts. His second-half comeback was laudable but there is no doubt that he needed to attack from the get-go.
“I take a lot of blame. I didn’t play like myself in the first half. We didn’t play well in the first half. We responded in the second half, but they were already in a rhythm.”
Point guard Kemba Walker had similar views on the game and blamed it on a lack of aggression.
NBA News Update: Brad Stevens praises 'ridiculous' Tyler Herro
Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens was not quite ready to wave the white flag at the end of Game 4 as he remains hopeful of a miraculous turnaround from 1-3 down. The 43-year-old claimed that his team could still win the series and that they needed to take it one game at a time starting Friday.
He was also critical of the defense that the Boston Celtics played in Game 4, terming it the worst they have played so far in the Eastern Conference Finals series.
With that being said, he did not shy away from giving rookie Tyler Herro credit for playing an amazing offensive game. The 20-year-old dropped a career-high 37 points.
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