The mighty Boston Celtics have seemed unusually mortal lately.

Boston is just 3-4 in its last seven contests, losing two games in a row for the first time this year.

Read more: Celtics have an incredible winning streak that dates back ten seasons

The reigning champions have fallen to a still-great record of 22-8 this year, solid enough for second place in the Eastern Conference standings.

“We have to get better,” Tatum said after the game, according to Brian Robb of Masslive.com. “It’s still a long season. Nobody panics. We must navigate the emotional roller coaster of the NBA season. It feels much worse than it actually is. We don’t panic or anything. We just have to man up, look in the mirror and figure out some things we need to get better at.”

In the team’s last loss, a 118-114 home loss to the Philadelphia 76ers 11-17 on Christmas Day, Tatum was Boston’s leading scorer. The senior forward scored 32 points on 11 of 20 split shots (4 of 8 from long range) and 6 of 7 shooting from the foul line. He also led Boston in rebounding with 15 boards while chipping in four dimes, a steal and a block.

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With Jrue Holiday out, head coach Joe Mazzulla decided to go big with his starting five on Christmas, naming seventh-man Al Horford to power forward and promoting Tatum to small forward. Horford scored 17 points on 6 of 13 shooting (5 of 10 from distance) while bolstering the club’s frontcourt alongside 7-foot-3 starting center Kristaps Porzingis. Boston’s All-Star shooting guard Jaylen Brown scored 23 points on 10 of 23 shooting from the floor (3 of 6 from distance), grabbed seven boards, had four assists and had two steals. All-defensive guard Derrick White scored 21 points on 8 of 15 shooting from the field (5 of 10 on 3-pointers), four assists and three rebounds. Reserve center Luke Kornet grabbed 10 rebounds.

Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla also noticed the club’s erratic production and reported it after the game.

Read more: Joe Mazzulla talks about the Celtics’ “inconsistent” play and performance in recent weeks

The Celtics’ next opportunity to turn things around comes Friday with a game at TD Garden against the 15-15 Indiana Pacers, the East’s eighth seed. The Pacers are, unfortunately for Boston, one of the hottest teams in the league. Along with the Cleveland Cavaliers (26-4) and New York Knicks (20-10), Indiana is on a five-game winning streak. T

The Pacers still have a sub-.500 road record (7-11) in the 2024-25 season, while the Celtics are 11-5 at home.

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