Season-long competition compelled Joe Mazzulla to clarify the Celtics mindset
Boston — In order to move on to the NBA’s In-Season Tournament’s knockout stage, the Boston Celtics needed to defeat the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night by a minimum of 23 points.
Boston’s 27-point rout of Chicago sealed their fate in the quarterfinals, along with the Brooklyn Nets’ victory over the Toronto Raptors.
The head coach of the Boston Celtics, Joe Mazzulla, initially stated before the game at TD Garden that he didn’t feel pressured to win by a specific margin because he didn’t want his team to be sidetracked by the tournament. However, he later had second thoughts.
Early in the third quarter, Mazzulla’s staff informed him that his team had a 25-point lead and would advance to the tournament with this point differential. After the lead reached thirty, Mazzulla decided to keep his starters in the game and spoke with Billy Donovan, the coach of the Chicago Bulls, at courtside.
“Billy believed we needed to win by 22, but he was unaware of the implications of the Brooklyn, Toronto game,” Mazzulla remarked. “This is what our people are telling us,” I had to inform him. This is what needs to be done. Here is how we plan to keep our lead safe. gives us the best opportunity to succeed and go forward. He deserves praise for realizing that.
Mazzulla took advantage of Boston’s dominance in the third and fourth quarters to keep his starters in the game and extend the lead.
“I simply thought that we tried our hardest to extend the lead, and after witnessing Jaylen Brown dive on loose balls, I had enough.” I don’t want anyone to suffer harm.”
