There’s no need for Celtics to panic after Game 2 loss

Cause for panic? Hardly. Every playoff run incorporates a clunker or two. But this loss was a reminder that the Banner No. 19 burden cannot be unique to The Jays. The Celtics need to function at full capability, and which means getting Derrick White and Payton Pritchard dialed in from distance. The savvy guards have been harmonious basketball background singers for Jaylen Brown’s frontman act when Jayson Tatum was out. They set profession highs in factors per sport this season ― Pritchard at 17 and White at 16.5.

While they will affect the sport in different methods apart from shot-making, particularly White, a sui generis defensive virtuoso, they have been off key on this collection, missing their cues and their shots.

The Celtics shot a woeful 13 for 50 from 3-point vary Tuesday evening. White and Pritchard have been two of the most important culprits. White was 2 for 10 from past the arc and three of 12 from the sphere for 8 factors. Pritchard could not summon “Playoff P” and clanged all 4 of his threes whereas ending with 4 factors on 2-for-8 capturing. While the 76ers put 5 gamers in double figures, no Celtics aside from Brown, who racked up 36 factors, and Tatum, who added 19, reached double digits.

Brown was requested how the Celtics can get extra from their stellar supporting forged, headlined by White and Pritchard.

“Just keep finding them. Keep trusting them. Trust him and Payton. Both got good looks tonight. Both got some open shots. That’s what we want,” Brown mentioned.

“So, continue to trust that process. Just continue to play Celtic basketball… We trust Payton. We trust Sam [Hauser]. We trust Baylor [Scheierman]. “We trust all of those guys to come in and impact the game.”

Neither White nor Pritchard shot the ball well in Game 1, either. But it went unnoticed as the Celtics defeated the 76ers, who couldn’t throw the ball into the Atlantic, shooting 4 of 23 from 3-point range. In Game 1, White missed 5 of 7 threes. Pritchard clanked 7 of 9 treys.

The two fan-favorite guards are averaging a combined 17 points per game, shooting a combined 31 percent from the floor and 16.7 percent from 3-point distance. That’s not a typo. That’s probably a sample-size blip. But it better not become a trend.

White had an uncharacteristically uneven season shooting. He finished with the lowest overall field goal percentage of his career (39.4 percent).

Their struggles in Game 2 have been highlighted by the truth that Philly’s backcourt of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe went off. Edgecombe echoed his 34-point NBA debut towards the Celtics on the Garden on Oct. 22 by scoring 30 factors in Game 2 and draining six threes.

Maxey outscored The Jays combined in the fourth quarter, 12-11. He drilled back-to-back triples after the Celtics clawed within a bucket (91-89) in the fourth to stiff-arm a Boston comeback and spark an 11-0 Philly run that sounded the Celtics’ eulogy.

On the to-do list for the Celtics as the series swings to Philadelphia is getting White and Pritchard untracked.

“I mean, there’s a lot of open looks and looks that they normally make,” Tatum mentioned. “I don’t know how many they made this year, but I remember last year both those guys made 250-plus threes.

“They’re great shooters. Sometimes the ball just doesn’t go in. But [we] never lose confidence in them, and they’ll be ready. We’ll all be ready, Friday.”

This was a distinct model of the 76ers than the crew the Celtics bulldozed by 32 factors in Game 1. This crew pushed again and punched again. After an 0-6 begin from 3-point land, Philly landed 19 of 33 the remainder of the best way.

The Celtics aided the Sixers to find their footing. Boston dedicated some careless live-ball turnovers that led to straightforward Philly factors. The 76ers had simply 10 fast-break factors in Game 1. They notched 10 fast-break factors within the first half of Game 2.

Tatum preached emotional stability. Don’t overreact to one outcome, damaging or optimistic.

“Just being through it so many times, the playoffs is a roller coaster,” mentioned Tatum, who completed one help shy of a triple-double with 14 rebounds and 9 assists.

“I think what I’ve learned throughout my nine years in the playoffs is just stay even-keeled throughout.”

But it would take greater than mindfulness from the Celtics. It’s about ensuring their Core Four fires on all cylinders.

Christopher L. Gasper is a Globe columnist. He will be reached at christopher.gasper@globe.com. comply with him @cgasper and on Instagram @cgaspersports.