On a chilly Wednesday evening in Boston, on the heels of a “Nor’easter,” Luke Kornet arrived at TD Garden sporting a bucket hat and sunglasses, braving the windy 26-degree weather with style.
He was ready for the All-Star break. Everybody was. Well, except for Joe Mazzulla.
The last game before the All-Star break always tests a team’s mental toughness. It’s common for players to start looking forward to the break, imagining the warmer weather and downtime ahead before returning for the season’s final stretch.
Keeping focus on the game becomes even more challenging when it’s the second night of a road-home back-to-back without Jaylen Brown (right shoulder contusion) and Al Horford (toe).
“These are probably two of the hardest games to play in the NBA. A back-to-back right before the All-Star break,” Mazzulla said.
For the Celtics, however, that is just another one of those narratives that Mazzulla strives to have his team fight against.
“Another narrative. There it is,” Mazzulla said pregame when asked about the challenges of the final game before the All-Star break. “It’s a matter of focusing on execution.”
For some teams, that can be easier said than done. Treating this game like the final day of school before Christmas break is easy – but that wasn't the case for the Celtics.
Forty-five seconds into the game, Kristaps Porzingis nailed a 27-foot three from the left slot, opening the scoring for the game and the floodgates for Boston. Less than four minutes later, that lead was up double-digits, leaving Brooklyn trailing hopelessly behind.
On 2K night at TD Garden, the Nets probably wish they could have disconnected their controller, as the Celtics cruised to a 136-86 win, earning their fifth 50-point victory in franchise history and their second this season.
Only three teams in the history of the NBA have posted two 50-point victories in the same season: the Milwaukee Bucks (1978-79), the Sacramento Kings (1992-93) and the 2023-24 Boston Celtics.
Boston never trailed in the wire-to-wire victory over the Nets, leading by as many as 56 points and earning their starters some extra rest ahead of the All-Star break.
“This game said a lot about us,” Porzingis said postgame. “It’s not an easy game to get going mentally. You have to give credit to Joe and the coaching staff for getting us ready.
Behind a dominant defensive effort, holding the visitors to just 55 points on 21-of-64 (32.8%) shooting from the field and 6-of-24 (25%) from deep over the first three (!) quarters, Boston took a 46-point lead into the final frame. The 46-point differential is the second-largest lead entering the fourth quarter in franchise history.
Additionally, Boston’s 36-point halftime lead was its largest since 2010.
“We came out and ran away with our foot on the gas. We didn’t let up. We played great defense. Great communication,” Porzingis said postgame. “That maybe made the game a little bit boring for the fans because we went up so many points early on, but I think the fans have to appreciate that type of game also, that we’re just stepping on those guys and not letting up.”
Here are three takeaways as the Celtics advance to 43-12, their best record through 55 games since the 2008-09 season, riding a six-game win streak into the All-Star break.
Win #100 for Joe Mazzulla
With the win on Wednesday night, Mazzulla earned his 100th career regular-season win as a head coach. Through his first 137 games as a head coach, Mazzulla is 100-37. That means he has won 72.9% of the games he has coached — seventy-two percent.
“I told the guys, I think it’s something to be proud of, something to be grateful for,” Mazzulla said on the milestone postgame. “It’s just a testament to the people that you have around you. In a business where individual success is highly talked about on a nightly basis… To have a group of people that you can share your success with is important. It really starts with the players. I always tell them I can’t be who I am if they don’t let me.”
Mazzulla is the fastest head coach in franchise history to reach 100 career regular-season wins, accomplishing the milestone in just 137 games. He ties John Kundla of the Minnesota Lakers as the fifth-fastest head coach in NBA history to reach the milestone, joining elite company alongside Steve Kerr (117 games), Tom Thibodeau (130 games), Avery Johnson (131 games), and Red Auerbach (135 games).
The amount of criticism a coach with that level of success can attract is fascinating.
“Just seeing how people view him, maybe from the outside a little bit, I think he’s very underrated. People don’t appreciate who he is and how he coaches. Because he is very young, you can always blame it on him, stuff like that. But he’s very underrated as a coach,” Porzingis said postgame. “People don’t see who he really is and how he coaches, and it’s easy to not give him credit because of the talent that we have, but he deserves a lot of credit.”
It seems to be forgotten that Mazzulla took over a depleted staff left from Ime Udoka just five days before the start of training camp a season ago. Despite the odds, he rallied the team to a Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals after trailing 0-3.
Now, after an offseason to prepare, Mazzulla is leaving his mark, and the Celtics are better because of it.
“Definitely a lot of growth,” Derrick White said on Mazzulla. “When I first got here, I was with Ime [Udoka] and Will [Hardy] mostly, but I remember them telling me, ‘If you need to know anything with the defense, Joe is your guy’…. It’s been great just building that relationship with him on the court and off the court. He’s a great guy. Great coach and I just love playing for him.”
Mazzulla holds the highest win percentage in NBA history (.729) among coaches with at least 100 wins.
Jordan Walsh sees his first real NBA minutes
The second-round draft pick, rapidly gaining popularity among fans at TD Garden, received his first meaningful NBA minutes on Wednesday night when Mazzulla called upon the 19-year-old early in the first quarter.
“I think it’s an opportunity to give a young guy a chance, especially in a game where you’re looking for energy. You know it’s gonna be a team win, and you’re down a couple of guys,” Mazzulla said on the Walsh minutes postgame. “I really like the way he’s approached the defensive side of the ball.”
The Arkansas product logged 18 minutes of play, and although he didn’t score, the 6-foot-6 wing snagged five rebounds (1 offensive) and played some nice defense, racking up a steal, a block, and contesting five shots.
After the game, Mazzulla mentioned that Walsh’s focus has been on improving his defense, and he expressed satisfaction with the rookie’s growth in that aspect.
“Since Christmas, when he came on the West Coast trip with us, we made a conscious effort to just have an understanding of, like, defense is how you make it in this league as a young player,” the bench boss said. “In the games I’ve watched, the feedback from Maine, and his approach here with us, his defense is drastically improved.
Offensively, Walsh struggled a bit, missing all three of his attempts, including a right-handed layup, and losing possession in transition, leading to a steal.
“I think he did a lot of good things for us. Especially defensively,” White said on Walsh postgame. “He’s just gonna keep getting better, learning more, getting more comfortable, and getting more confident. It’s exciting to see the growth and development.
The Celtics and Walsh are hopeful he can develop into a three-and-d player at the professional level. While his performances in the G-League have been encouraging, Wednesday night’s game provided invaluable experience that he can’t find anywhere else.
“Jordan is going to be a really, really good player,” Payton Pritchard said postgame. “I see him every day working and stuff. He’s going to be a special player.”
Payton Pritchard’s big night
Pritchard dominated Wednesday night’s game, matching the second-highest scoring performance of his career with a game-high 28 points. He shot an impressive 11-of-16 from the field (68.8%) and drained 6-of-9 three-point attempts (66.7%). Additionally, he contributed four rebounds and three assists.
His six triples pushed him to 95 on the season, the fourth-most among Eastern Conference reserves, and he passed Eddie House for most three-pointers off the bench in Celtics history in the process.
The 26-year-old guard nearly outscored Brooklyn’s entire starting lineup single-handedly, as they managed just 29 points collectively.
Wednesday night marked the second time this season that Pritchard led the Celtics in scoring, solidifying his role as the key rotation player envisioned by Boston when they extended his contract before the season.
With a plus-minus of +29 in the win, Pritchard’s season total now stands at +251, the highest among reserves in the NBA. His consistent impact on winning was evident once again on Wednesday night.
Pritchard’s contributions deserve recognition. As the only Celtic to appear in every game this season, he has been instrumental in his expanded role. Alongside Sam Hauser, his efforts will be crucial if the Celtics are to achieve their goal of winning Banner 18.
“I’m looking forward to winning,” Pritchard said postgame on what he’s looking forward to after the All-Star break. “Winning a championship and being a part of that. That’s the one goal we all have here, and that’s what we’re all focused on.”
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