A night after a two-overtime thriller against the Knicks, the Boston Celtics again found themselves falling short in an overtime game Monday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

While some could have chalked up Boston's dreadful five-point showing in the extra period to fatigue, Jaylen Brown was hearing none of it.

"There were key, vital plays that we missed, but we can't blame fatigue," Brown told reporters after the game. "We came in, saying we'd win this. There are no moral victories in this s--t. We've got to be better."

Brown had 32 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists as Jayson Tatum sat out for rest purposes. The Celtics have dropped three straight games and four of their last five, and sit two games behind the Milwaukee Bucks for the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

Center Al Horford told reporters the team isn't "locking in" the way it needs to after Sunday's home loss to the Knicks:

"The character of our group, the kind of guys that we have, I feel pretty confident that we'll figure it out. Obviously, you don't want to drag this out. And like I've said earlier, we want to play our best basketball. But this is a part of the season. There are ups, there are downs, and within games, we're playing well, then we kind of go on a rut, seems like we can't get out of it. And we have to stay the course, and I feel like we'll be fine. But definitely, it's not pleasant to go through this right now."

Boston's next chance to right the ship comes Wednesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers.