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Joe Mazzula accepted the adversity of the Celtics’ disappointing loss to the Lakers, who were without LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but also acknowledged that the Celtics need to respond.
Mazzula was excited about the opportunity. He said Saturday’s unusual practice day allowed the Celtics to “take a deep breath” after a busy schedule. Little did he know, his team had a chance to right the ship under similar circumstances after a previous setback.
The Grizzlies were absurdly short on players on Sunday. They had already lost Jay Morant and Marcus Smart, but they were also missing stars Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. That was less than half the list. They were missing 13 players and only eight players were available, including several players on two-way contracts. The Celtics should be even more relaxed than they were on Thursday, when they were 19.5-point favorites to win the championship.
But in the end, their talent and firepower were too much. Unlike Thursday, they ran errands. Led by Jayson Tatum’s 34 points and Kristaps Porzingis’ 26 points, the Celtics were back on track with a commanding 131-91 victory over the Grizzlies on an emotional night at TD Garden, and Smart is back in Boston. I’m back.
“I thought we did our job,” Mazzula said. “The game went as expected. I thought we played well, we executed, and I thought we went into it with the right mindset. Just come to work, do your job, work hard, I can’t help but be grateful for the time just to get out. I think that’s important, you know?
“But the mindset is the same, win or lose, it’s unhealthy to keep fixating on it. So we have to improve and that’s a healthy frame of mind that we’re trying to maintain. think.”
Sunday’s win will be remembered as Smart’s comeback and the many well-deserved ovations he received throughout the win. The beloved former Celtics point guard did not play as he is recovering from a finger injury, but will be in this game alongside a Memphis team led by Luke Kennard, GG Jackson and several other players. , his presence on the floor would have mattered little. These are guys who barely log any time in the NBA.
The Celtics struggled to beat the Grizzlies early on, although the final score didn’t suggest it. After taking a double-digit lead early in the second quarter, the Grizzlies scored on 3-pointers from Kennard and Jacob Gilyard and narrowed the lead to 40-38, but with 4:55 left in the first half. At the second mark, they still had a two-point lead. Jackson layup. But the Seeds fought back with a 24-6 run led by Tatum, Porzingis and Derrick White.
The Celtics led by 20 points at halftime and never narrowed the advantage to less than 16 points the rest of the way. Four of the Celtics’ five starters were able to rest the entire fourth quarter, with the exception of Jrue Holiday, but as it became clear early in the final period that the game was out of reach, he too I immediately followed them to the bench.
“If we can win games and accomplish our goal of keeping our players healthy and not having to play long hours, I think that will help us and save us a lot of energy for practice on Tuesday,” Mazzula said.
The lopsided score allowed rookie Jordan Walsh to enter the game with 8:33 left in the fourth inning. He immediately scored his first career point after O’Shea Brissett made a huge dunk in transition.
Walsh took shots to make the right play and finished with two points, and Mazzula was also impressed with his defense.
“I think what’s been noticeable is his growth as a player and understanding that the most important thing is defense,” Mazzula said. “I loved his defensive positioning and his defensive physicality and his instincts. I think that’s gotten a lot better since the beginning of the year. I think that’s a challenge for any young player, but the situation… The fact that it’s really accepted, regardless of what you think of the offense, how you were in college, you have to play defense, you have to learn defense, and he’s about that. He did a great job.
“And it was fun for him too. He got the first two points in the Garden and kept playing the right way.”
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