When Joe Mazzulla takes to the podium postgame, he typically glances at the boxscore in front of him.
Something Mazzulla keeps a close eye on is the margins. Are you attempting more shots than the opponent? Are you getting more offensive rebounds? Are you committing fewer turnovers?
For the most part, the Celtics got beat in the margins in Saturday night’s 145-113 dismantling of the Houston Rockets. Yet, they won by 32?
Beyond the margins, Mazzulla has a thing for three-pointers, and that’s where Boston clinched the win on Saturday night.
After shooting 25.7% from distance in Thursday night’s 33-point loss to Milwaukee, the Celtics found their stroke from deep again on Saturday night. They made three times as many threes as Houston, hitting 24-of-47 (51.5%) compared to Houston’s 7-of-30 (23.3%).
The Celtics outscored the Rockets 72-21 on the perimeter.
The margins didn’t matter Saturday night – as Boston put on an offensive clinic.
Celtics fans know how harrowing an Ime Udoka-led defense can be, and the Rockets have been no exception this year. Heading into Saturday night, the Rockets ranked sixth in defensive rating (111.4), giving up just 110.5 points per game, the second-fewest in the league.
However, Houston had no answer for the Celtics’ offense. The C’s put up 145 points, tying for their second-highest total this season, shooting at an impressive 53.7%.
After combining for just 31 points on 13-of-42 (30.9%) shooting Thursday night in Milwaukee (and sitting the entire second half), Boston’s starters bounced back in a big way on Saturday night, totaling a combined 100 points on 35-of-62 (56.4%) shooting.
For the 16th time this season, the whole starting five finished with double-figures scoring.
“We got our ass kicked the other night. We wanted to bounce back from that,” Jayson Tatum said postgame.
That they did.
Here are three takeaways as the Celtics spoil Udoka’s return to Boston, becoming the first team in the league to reach 30 wins and advance to 19-0 at home.
No answer for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown
If Tatum had not been ejected early in the fourth quarter for protesting with officials, he and Brown probably would have recorded their third game with 30 points apiece in a week’s span.
Udoka had no answer for his former stars.
“I didn’t love our physicality and understanding how we made them a little too comfortable,” Udoka said postgame. “I would’ve loved for people to guard them the way we guarded them tonight when I was here.”
Tatum (27 points) and Brown (32 points) combined for 59 points on 20-of-32 (62.5%), 14 rebounds, seven assists, three steals, and three blocks. Both played less than 30 minutes.
Tatum continued his red-hot three-point shooting streak, knocking down four of his seven triples. He is now shooting 25-of-45 (55.5%) from distance in the New Year.
Even with the dud in Milwaukee Thursday and Tatum missing Monday night in Indiana, the Jays have combined for 265 points on 93-of–163 (57%) shooting from the field and 30-of-54 (55.5%) from deep over Boston’s last five games.
“I think they’re doing a good job of getting to their spots, of understanding the coverage, and of picking and choosing when to attack,” Mazzulla said of the All-NBA duo postgame. “I do like the intention that they are playing with.”
Brown put the game out of reach in the third quarter (!) Saturday night.
The 27-year-old scored 21 points in the third period alone on 7-of-10 (70%) shooting as the Celtics outscored Houston 43-28 in the frame.
It may sound like a broken record, but Brown is playing the best basketball of his career. The soon-to-be three-time All-Star is making his impact on both ends of the floor, proving worth every penny of the supermax extension he signed over the offseason.
“We said the same thing last month, and now we’re saying it another month in,” Brown said postgame when asked if he believes he is playing the best ball of his career. “I still think that I have a lot of potential that I haven’t tapped into.”
That’s a scary thought for the rest of the league.
The Celtics are tough to beat when the Jays play the way they have this season. Both have shown incredible growth in their games, and it’s led to the success Boston is seeing. Add Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, and Al Horford into the fold, and it is no surprise the Celtics sit atop the NBA standings.
Mixed emotions about Ime Udoka’s return
576 days ago, Ime Udoka walked off the TD Garden floor following the Celtics’ Game 6 loss to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. Saturday night, he made his first return back.
When introduced during opening lineups, Boston’s former bench boss was met with a mixed reaction of cheers and boos.
“We had a good year, not a great year. Didn’t get it done,” Udoka said when discussing his return pregame. “But yeah, I would say just seeing some people I haven’t seen in a while, I obviously talked to. Then, once it’s done, it’s done. A first time for everything. We’ve been through it and are ready to move on.”
Like the crowd, the Celtics appear to have moved on from Udoka.
After falling behind a 0-3 hole in the Eastern Conference Finals last May, ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Celtics’ locker room “Never got over Udoka’s dismissal as head coach.”
That sentiment doesn’t ring true anymore.
“We’ve all kinda moved on from that,” Tatum said postgame. “You know, kinda like, leave that in the past.”
“They’re a great coaching staff,” Payton Pritchard added. “He’s a great coach, and we just, I don’t know. It’s just another game to us, and I think they felt the same way.”
While the fact that the Celtics never got a chance to finish what they started with Udoka last season will probably still sting, all parties appear to have moved on – and it was long overdue.
Udoka laid the groundwork, providing the tough love Boston’s star core needed. Now, Mazzulla has helped them reach that next step, gaining the same trust Udoka did.
While the relationships between Udoka and his former players will endure, Saturday night gives the impression of closing that chapter.
Shut ’em down in the second half
The Celtics defense has had their struggles this week.
Surrendering a 74-point second half against a Tyrese Haliburton-less Pacers Monday night. Struggling to string together stops against the Timberwolves on Wednesday night. And getting run off the court by Milwaukee on Thursday night.
However, the Celtics defense returned to the one we know and love in the second half Thursday night.
Boston held the Rockets to just 55 second-half points on 19-of-53 (35.8%) shooting from the field and 2-of-15 (13.3%) from deep – 22 of those 55 points came in the final 9:08 when Boston had emptied its bench.
“I think giving up a 31-point first quarter allows a team to hang around, and then 25-point quarters are really hard,” Mazzulla said postgame. “You got a 49% chance if you get one, 68% if you get two. Like, 27s are decent. I look at the 27, 28, 27, and the difference is like a foul… We’re not talking entire quarters. We’re talking five possessions a quarter that we have to get better at.”
This season, Mazzulla's really been stressing defense, and it's working for Boston. They're hanging out in the top five for defensive rating, proving they mean business on the defensive end.
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