Joe Mazzulla said the Boston Celtics stayed disciplined early and kept the right shot quality flowing in Wednesday’s 147-129 win over the Miami Heat at Kaseya Center. “When we got off to a good start pace-wise, thought we executed pretty well,” Mazzulla said, noting that Boston avoided the trap of settling once the shots started falling.
The Celtics scored 53 points in the first quarter, a franchise record, and Mazzulla said the key was shot selection. “There’s times when you execute well and you get good shot after good shot and it just kind of happens,” he said. “The key is having the discipline to continue to get a good shot when it’s falling like that. I thought you guys did that.”
Miami made its push after halftime, but Mazzulla pointed to the middle of the second quarter as the stretch where the game loosened. “It started about four minutes ago in the second quarter,” he said. “We let a team go into halftime with a sense of life because of poor execution and things like that.” He added, “They made threes. What saved us is we didn’t turn over, and I think we still got good shots.”
Jaylen Brown answered with 43 points after Boston’s loss in Atlanta, and Mazzulla said the All-Star guard played with the right edge. “That’s why the care factor he has, the competitiveness that he has,” Mazzulla said. “He’s just going to come back and respond.” He added that Brown “saw the play in front of him every single time, made the right read when he had the ball and took advantage of opportunities.”
Jayson Tatum added his first triple-double of the season with 25 points, 18 rebounds and 11 assists, and Mazzulla said Boston’s offense did not depend on one fixed pattern. “Success looked different every night,” he said. “He did a great job rebounding, drawing two-on-ones, and then the game kind of started to find him.”
Mazzulla also singled out Neemias Queta for his work inside. “Discipline,” he said. “He’s a tremendous player. He puts a ton of pressure on you because he can shoot now, gets to the free throw line, forces two-on-ones overhelps.” Boston finished with 48 rebounds and 37 assists, while Queta added 16 points and 11 rebounds.
The Celtics also got valuable minutes from the supporting cast. Mazzulla said the group has to stay ready when the offense runs through different players, adding, “It’s just every night is going to look different. We’re going to have a bunch of guys that impact winning.”
Boston improved to 51-25 and stayed in the No. 2 spot in the East, while the Heat fell to 40-37. Mazzulla said the formula remains the same: “We’ve got to fight for a good look and the next best look.”
