The Sacramento Kings, without cornerstone De’Aaron Fox, dominated the Celtics so soundly, they decided to ease up in the final minutes.
They made their point. A motivated team with an astute defensive game plan is capable of stymieing the Celtics, who basically relented against their zone, became passive, and practically quit in stretches of the fourth quarter of a 114-97 loss at TD Garden.
The most demoralizing moment occurred with 9 minutes left, when scoring maven Malik Monk was allowed a wide-open look from the 3-point line. He missed, but the Celtics players stood there, waiting for somebody else to grab the rebound. Domantas Sabonis, paid well to grab such errant shots, snatched the board and stood at the 3-point line himself.
Not one Celtic contested, so he hit his open three. An angry Joe Mazzulla called a timeout and the Celtics were basically done.
What’s even more distressing about that sequence is before it, Boston was only trailing by 5 points. But shots weren’t falling. The Celtics couldn’t solve Sacramento’s zone and their defense grew more discouraged each time Sabonis grabbed one of his career-high 28 rebounds.
The Kings worked harder and wanted to win more than the Celtics. The first-game-coming-off-a-road-trip mumbo jumbo is just an excuse. The Kings, missing their best player, hung close the first three quarters and then trounced the Celtics in the fourth.
This is not 2023-24. These Celtics are a flawed team that isn’t making the shots, getting the stops, or playing with the focus they did last season. The Kings rallied from a 9-point deficit to even the game after three quarters. And when rookie Devin Carter, playing in his fourth NBA game, nailed two open threes to begin the fourth, the Celtics were mentally done.
Carter wasn’t supposed to hit those shots. The Celtics weren’t supposed to be trailing. The Kings were supposed to lie down because they were double-digit underdogs.
The reality is nobody fears the Celtics anymore. Opposing teams know they can win at the Garden. They are throwing various defenses and the Celtics’ offense can’t consistently respond.
Mazzulla acknowledged the lack of effort, but blamed the lack of offense.
“Having an inefficient offense puts pressure on your defense,’’ he said. “I don’t think it’s a long-term effort thing. You hold a team like that to a 19-point quarter and a 23-point quarter and you have two 21-point quarters, I think that just wears on you. It takes a toll on you. You shoot 28 percent from three, you’re going to have to do a bunch of other things really, really, really well. And it puts pressure on your defense throughout the game. We have to be better there.’’
The fundamental issue is teams are playing the Celtics differently. They are no longer daunted by Boston’s 3-point shooting. They are being more physical. They are pushing the Celtics around. They are taking more threes themselves.
And the Celtics are showing more visible discouragement when shots aren’t falling. Several times Friday, Jayson Tatum paused after missing a layup, either looking for a call or just upset at the result. In one sequence, he was slow getting back on defense and Monk hit an open three because Tatum, when he did make it back, covered the wrong King.
The lack of concentration, lack of focus, and supreme arrogance are turning the Celtics into a second-tier team.
“Some plays, [lackadaisical things] just happen,’’ center Kristaps Porzingis said. “It’s not like we’re not trying. It doesn’t look perfect. But we’re going to get past it. We’re going to be fine. We’re going to figure it out. Guys, I’m telling you I’m confident we’ll bounce back. We’re just having not the prettiest moment right now as a team. It’s completely normal. I don’t need to be negative. We’ll figure it out.’’
How long will this process take? The Celtics, on a 58-win pace, are already 6½ games behind the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference. Last year’s team was 64-18. Last year’s team was 37-4 at home. This year’s team is 13-7.
“It’s a different year,’’ forward Jaylen Brown said. “We’re fighting. We’re playing some good basketball. We’re just figuring it out. It’s a different year. Last year is over. We’ve got to figure it out this year and do whatever it takes. This is part of the journey. It might not be as pretty as some would like, but I believe in this team. I believe in these guys and I think we’ll be all right.’’
The Celtics have to be willing to put in the work. So far that’s been maddeningly inconsistent. They went a solid 3-1 on a West Coast road trip, and then come back and get thumped by a below .500 team without its best player. The Celtics had two full days off before this game. Fatigue should not have been an issue.
We need to stop comparing this year to last year. The Celtics won the East by 14 games last season. They had the league’s best record by seven. The Cavaliers and Thunder are off to remarkable starts, pushing the Celtics back to the pack of contenders, not the favorites.
They’ll have to accept that tag because that’s who they are right now. Just another contender.
Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at gary.washburn@globe.com. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.
