The shorthanded Celtics were going to need a big Jaylen Brown performance on Monday night to pull out a tough matchup against the red-hot Atlanta Hawks.

With Boston down two starters, including Jayson Tatum, Brown played 40 minutes in his return to the floor after missing two games due to Achilles tendinitis. However, his strong final stat line of 29 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists masked a largely subpar performance from the All-Star in a 112-102 Celtics loss to Atlanta.

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Brown did not mince words about his play after the defeat.

“That was probably one of my worst games of the season,” Brown told reporters in Atlanta on Monday night. “This game was on me. I gotta be better. Probably one of my worst performances in a while, and that cost us.”

Brown missed 14 of his first 18 shots in the loss, struggling massively for the first three quarters with his offense before finishing 9-of-29 from the field. He also struggled uncharacteristically at the free throw line (8-of-14) while turning the ball over six times in the defeat. It was evident his rhythm was not there early on in this matchup but he chose not to use it as an excuse.

“You can’t throw in the towel if you’re not feeling up to your best. Still got to do what you need to do,” Brown said. “You just got to work your way through it, rely on your teammates. But if you’re getting good shots and getting good looks, you got to trust that and keep playing aggressive basketball. Tonight wasn’t the greatest night for my team or myself, but you learn from it and move forward.”

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Brown and the Celtics will get a chance to bounce back on their road trip quickly as the race for the No. 2 seed heats up. Boston now holds a two-game edge over the Knicks with just seven regular season games remaining including one head-to-head matchup next week in New York.

Boston is expected to have Tatum and Neemias Queta back in the lineup on Wednesday night when they face the Miami Heat in South Beach.

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