Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla addressed the media Wednesday night after a second consecutive home loss to the New York Knicks, emphasizing execution issues and defensive breakdowns in the final minutes.
Speaking following a 91-90 defeat that saw Boston surrender a 16-point fourth-quarter lead, Mazzulla pointed to turnovers and missed opportunities late as the turning point.
“They made the necessary plays to win,” Mazzulla said. “We put ourselves in position, and we just didn’t make the plays.”
When asked about his decision not to call a timeout with 12 seconds remaining, the Celtics coach explained he relied on a prior look from the same set, which had resulted in a Jayson Tatum dunk earlier in the game.
“They did a better job of their lower pickup point, and we weren’t able to get the advantage,” he said. “We just didn’t execute.”
The Celtics failed to score a field goal in the final eight minutes of regulation, allowing the Knicks to mount a 23-4 run capped by Mikal Bridges’ steal on Tatum in the closing seconds.
Pressed on Boston’s inability to close out games, Mazzulla described the team’s late-game issues as a combination of poor reads and self-inflicted mistakes.
“I’d say it’s about 60-40,” he said, referring to the split between missed open looks and damaging turnovers. “We got to do a better job executing—especially not having live-ball turnovers.”
Despite the back-to-back blown leads, Mazzulla expressed confidence in his group’s mindset heading into Game 3 at Madison Square Garden.
“There’s obviously a lot of things that we’re doing well,” he noted. “But there’s things we need to be extremely better at in those situations.”
Tatum, who finished with 13 points on 5-for-19 shooting, passed up several shot attempts in Game 2. Mazzulla attributed it to the Knicks’ defense and individual efforts from O.G. Anunoby.
“Their switchability and ability to impact shifts definitely impacted him tonight,” Mazzulla said.
He also defended the decision to employ a Hack-a-Mitchell strategy, despite the Knicks quickly removing Robinson, who finished with a +19 plus-minus.
“We had to do a better job winning those minutes,” Mazzulla explained. “He’s one of the reasons they were able to win the game tonight.”
The Celtics now trail 2-0 in the Eastern Conference semifinals, with Game 3 set for Saturday in New York.
Asked whether the team can use frustration to fuel their preparation, Mazzulla made it clear: “We’ve got a challenge ahead of us, and we’ve got to do it together. We don’t really have a choice.”
