Following the Celtics’ 124-113 win over the Chicago Bulls, Joe Mazzulla’s upbeat presence was evident as he took to the podium.
“You can’t take winning for granted,” Mazzulla said at the dais. “I thought the guys have handled it really well, with a competitive mindset. There are many reasons why we could have had a lull from an effort standpoint or from a competitive standpoint and just lay down, and who’s to say that it doesn’t happen on this trip? But up until this point, especially after the Milwaukee game, which was a game that was probably circled for the guys, for us to just continue to play hard is the habit that we need to have.”
Playing their fifth game in seven nights, down three starters (Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday), and on the second night of a back-to-back, there indeed were reasons the Celtics could have a lull. Still, once again, they came out and took care of business with another double-digit victory, extending their win streak to nine games.
“Just the locker room,” Mazzulla said when asked about what gave his team a chance to win Saturday night. “Every time someone goes into the game, they know their minutes matter, and they play the role that they need to do to give us the best chance to win. It looks different every night, so it’s a credit to them, really.”
The Celtics have used eight starting lineups over their nine-game win streak, resulting in one recurring theme: winning.
No matter who has seen the court for the Celtics, they’ve brought the winning mindset that Mazzulla has instilled since day one, and they’re reaping the benefits, now just one win away from clinching the number one seed in the Eastern Conference and home court advantage throughout the postseason.
“That’s the beauty of our team. Anyone can step in and play 30 minutes a night,” Sam Hauser said postgame. “That’s a credit to all the work we put in day in and day out. We truly try to win every day, and I think it shows on the court when we have nights like this when guys are out.”
It hasn’t mattered who is in or out all season long. The Celtics are ready to go when the referee tosses the ball for tip-off. Saturday night was no different.
This team has no room for excuses. They’ve eliminated that term from their vocabulary. They’ve fully bought into Mazzulla’s message of winning every game, practice, shootaround, or film session — and even with the number one seed virtually locked up, they aren’t straying from that approach.
“We’re just hungry for more,” Hauser said postgame. “It’s not in our character to just mail it in for the rest of the season, even though we have a good record to this point. We’re trying to take it a day at a time because we have a lot to prepare for - for the playoffs, and each and every day is a good opportunity for us to grow together as a group.”
Despite missing two of their top scorers in Brown and Porzingis, as well as one of their key facilitators and defensive linchpin in Holiday, while Chicago shot 57.3% (!) with just seven turnovers, the Celtics still managed to secure a double-digit victory – an outcome that might have seemed unlikely to many.
Here are five takeaways and how the Celtics pulled off the win, advancing to 57-14 on the season — matching last year’s win total.
Ageless Wonder
On April 3, 2006, Al Horford, a sophomore with the Florida Gators, won the National Championship. He repeated the victory the following year, solidifying the Gators as the last team to secure consecutive titles. His coach at the time was Billy Donovan, who now leads the Chicago Bulls.
Fast-forward eighteen years, and Horford is still performing at a high level. On Saturday night, the 37-year-old delivered a standout performance, scoring 23 points against the coach who recruited him to Gainesville over twenty years ago. Interestingly enough, he’s now demonstrating abilities he didn’t quite possess during his time under Donovan’s guidance.
During his 109 games across three seasons at Florida with Donovan, Horford attempted just four three-pointers and missed all of them. However, on Saturday night, he made five of his 10 attempts (50%), marking his second game this season with at least five threes.
Horford’s 23 points marked his third game this season with at least 20 points, and he fell just one point shy of his season-high. He also snagged eight boards.
Saturday night was Horford’s 29th start of the year. He has split his time evenly between 29 starts and 29 appearances off the bench. Regardless of his role, Horford has been incredibly reliable and critical to Boston’s success.
Luke Kornet is good!
Speaking of reliability, let’s shift our focus to Luke Kornet, who, much like Horford, has been incredibly dependable in his role.
Kornet made his fifth start of the season for the Celtics on Saturday night and immediately set the tone.
On the opening possession of the game, the Vanderbilt product secured an offensive rebound and promptly kicked the ball out to Derrick White on the wing, granting the Celtics an extra possession. White then reciprocated Kornet’s effort by driving to the hoop and delivering an alley-oop pass to him, which resulted in an easy two-handed slam.
That was one of five offensive rebounds on the night for Kornet, as the big man finished with eight points, 13 rebounds, four assists, and two blocks. His 13 boards tied his career-high, and his five offensive rebounds were more than Chicago as a team (3).
“Man, he’s been a monster all year on the boards,” Sam Hauser said on Kornet. “He’s been great all year. He knows that’s his role. Come in, crash the boards — screen, roll. Finish at the rim, play good defense, and protect the rim. He’s done a great job of that all year.”
Kornet’s impact on Saturday is evidenced in the box score. However, that’s not always the case with Kornet. The 7-foot-2 center often makes plays that go unnoticed on both ends of the floor, underscoring his value as a key player for Boston.
“It’s what he’s been doing,” Mazzulla said on Kornet postgame. “His ability to navigate defensive coverages. His ability to impact the game offensively, I thought he had some tough, tough offensive rebounds for us that really kept us in the game emotionally, so to speak. I think coming out, the second night of a back-to-back, guys out, the role guys, in particular, credit to them, all their minutes, had to step up. But a couple of those just physical, present plays kind of kept us in, and I thought Oshae was great tonight as well in that department.”
Offensive rebounding was a key factor in Boston’s success Saturday night, and it was spearheaded by Kornet and, as Mazzulla mentioned, Oshae Brissett.
Kornet (5) and Brissett (3) had eight of Boston’s 12 offensive rebounds, which resulted in 23 second-chance points for the Green. On the other hand, Chicago had just three, which resulted in two points.
Controlling the perimeter
When examining the box score after the game, you may realize that the Bulls (47) made more shots than the Celtics (44) and shot at a better clip (57.3% to 51.2%).
However, the Celtics dominated the perimeter, knocking down 21 three-pointers compared to Chicago’s nine, outscoring the Bulls 63-27 from beyond the arc. With the win, the Celtics extended their record to 40 games over .500 when they make more threes than their opponents, boasting a 44-4 record.
Notably, the Celtics have buried 146 triples over their last seven games, marking the most in NBA history.
On Saturday night, Sam Hauser led this charge by knocking down seven of his eight three-point attempts (87.5%), nearly matching Chicago’s team total of nine.
His seven threes brought him to 21 total over his last three games, setting a new franchise record for most triples over a three-game stretch. Jayson Tatum, the previous record holder, set that record in January with 19 triples.
“The guys have done a better job of understanding how to use Sam as a weapon,” Mazzulla said postgame. “Whether it’s to get him open or to use him as a decoy for two-on-ones, he has an innate ability to balance the floor with spacing but also create indecisions.”
Hauser’s recent performance from deep has been remarkable. Over his last five games, he’s shooting 27-of-48 (56.2%) from beyond the arc, and in his two games since returning from an ankle sprain, he is 11-of-19 (57.8%).
It’s evident that the ankle injury hasn’t affected his rhythm.
“It’s been feeling pretty solid,” Hauser said on his ankle postgame. “It doesn’t feel quite 100% yet, but overall, pretty good.”
Payton Pritchard’s continued heater
Pritchard continued to capitalize on his increased minutes on Saturday night.
Although it wasn’t necessarily his most efficient shooting performance, as he finished with 15 points on 5-of-13 (38.5%) shooting from the field and 2-of-6 (33.3%) from beyond the arc, the Oregon product still significantly impacted the game.
He dished out a team-high eight assists and finished with a game-high +17 plus-minus, further bolstering his plus-minus to +315 this season, the highest mark among all reserves.
Once again, Pritchard’s playmaking stood out. He posted zero turnovers in over 33 minutes of work. Pritchard has recorded at least 14 points and six assists in five straight games.
His 4.2 assist-to-turnover ratio is in the top 10 in the NBA this season.
Attention to detail
Closing quarters is a prime example of the finer details of the game that often go unnoticed. In Boston’s loss in Denver earlier this month, this proved to be a problem, but the Celtics have shown improvement in this aspect since then.
These seemingly minor aspects can have a significant impact, particularly in the postseason. On Saturday night, the Celtics exemplified their focus on these nuances.
At the end of the third quarter, in a 94-92 game, Payton Pritchard was at the line shooting two free throws. In between the attempts, Joe Mazzulla subbed Jaden Springer into the game, replacing Xavier Tillman with just 4.0 seconds remaining in the frame.
The purpose was to prevent any shot attempt at the quarter’s end, and Springer and the Celtics executed flawlessly. Following Pritchard’s made free throw, Springer picked up DeMar DeRozan, remaining glued to him throughout, forcing DeRozan to dribble out the clock before crossing midcourt.
“It’s funny. We yelled Jaden [Springer’s] name, and he was shocked he went in at four seconds, but we’ve given up four points in four seconds against Denver and Detroit. Those four seconds matter,” remarked Mazzulla postgame.
These nuances of the game are paramount. Mazzulla and the Celtics refuse to let them slip under the radar.
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