The Celtics closed their season-long seven-game homestand with a win, defeating the Washington Wizards 133-129. The win marked Boston’s 40th in just 52 games, the fastest they have reached 40 wins since the 2008-2009 season.
As is customary as we approach the All-Star break, the game wasn’t pretty. They aren’t all going to be.
“It was tougher than maybe we thought it would be,” Jayson Tatum said postgame. “He [Joe Mazzulla] kind of encourages nights like this, we’re it’s ‘supposed’ to be easy.”
Throughout the homestand, Mazzulla repeatedly emphasized the importance of not succumbing to ‘narratives’ and ‘expectations,’ urging his team to focus on the present moment rather than predetermined outcomes.
“Just because we’re playing a team that has a record of whatever their record is, it doesn’t mean we should be up by a certain amount,” Mazzulla said following the win.
“I think it’s pretty arrogant to think that. So, getting away from having an expectation that the game is going to go a certain way, and more just kind of thriving and building awareness to being exactly where we’re at and just working through it,” Mazzulla added when asked about how to avoid slippage becoming an issue.
“Working through it” became a theme for the Celtics during this home stretch, and for the most part, they handled it commendably, finishing with a 5-2 record.
Here are three takeaways as the Celtics escape with a win, once again proving they can win ugly.
Terrible first half defense
Terrible is putting it nicely.
Who would’ve thought the league’s third-rated defense would be the first team to surrender a 70-point first half to the Washington Wizards?
That’s how bad Boston’s first half defense was.
Washington became just the third team to score 70 or more first-half points against the Celtics this season. The others were Milwaukee and Philadelphia.
Surrendering a 35-point and a 36-point quarter to one of the least efficient offenses in the league made for arguably the worst defensive half of the season for the Green.
“It took us a little while to combat their speed, so to speak,” Mazzulla said postgame. “I think they had the advantage in the first quarter and a half, particularly with their speed. And we played into that with just some of our offensive execution.”
It certainly didn’t help that the Celtics were smoking bunnies (13-of-21 in the restricted area) and couldn’t buy a three (4-of-19 from distance).
Boston also got burned in transition – where their defense was non-existent.
The Celtics gave up 26 (!) fast-break points to the Wizards in the first half. Entering the night, Boston surrendered just 13.6 per game.
However, Boston tightened things up quite a bit after the break, allowing just 10 fast break points in the second half.
Turning the tide
As the Celtics headed for the locker room at halftime, boos could be heard raining down from the TD Garden faithful.
Amidst the boos and trailing by seven points against one of the worst teams in the league, the Celtics’ locker room remained composed. There were no uproars, no thrown chairs, and no finger-pointing. Instead, the atmosphere was characterized by some film clips and a few lighthearted jokes.
“I showed them the 10 points in transition that I thought were effort-based, and I told a couple of jokes,” Mazzulla said postgame when asked what he told the team at the half.”
Though Mazzulla wouldn’t share the joke, citing it was too inappropriate, it helped his team wake up.
“It broke the tension,” the bench boss said. “Because we were playing with the expectation of ‘why is the game going the way it’s going right now?’ Instead of enjoying the fact that this is a game and we should just compete.”
Not only did it break the tension, but it also broke Boston’s first-half woes.
Headlined by 14 points from Kristaps Porzingis and another 13 from Tatum, the Celtics outscored 36-16 in the third frame.
The C's shot 13-of-22 (59.1%) from the field and 4-of-9 (44.4%) from distance in the third quarter, totaling as many assists (7) as Washington had made baskets.
Boston’s defensive turnaround especially stood out, as the Celtics held the visitors to just 16 points on 7-of-22 (31.8%) shooting from the field and 1-of-5 (20%) while forcing six turnovers. Washington’s 16 points tied the fewest surrendered by the C’s in a third quarter this season.
Perhaps it was the joke that inspired the third-quarter performance. Nevertheless, Brown didn’t find it that funny.
“Some days he has better luck than today, the three-time All-Star said. “We were losing at the time. I didn’t find it funny.”
Into the Spider-Verse
A vital aspect of the Celtics’ offense is exploiting favorable matchups. With such a star-studded lineup, someone will almost always have a mismatch.
It’s been emphasized throughout the season that “success will look different every night.”
In one game, a player might lead the team in scoring, while in the next, they could make valuable contributions in other aspects of the game.
It was Tatum and Porzingis’ turn to carry the load on Friday night.
Tatum finished with 35 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists, while Porzingis poured in another 34 points and snagged 11 boards.
Porzingis’ 34-point performance made him the first Celtics center to post back-to-back 30-point games since Robert Parish in 1983.
Additionally, Porzingis shot a perfect 14-of-14 at the free-throw line, becoming the first Celtic to make at least 14 free throws without a miss since Ed McCauley in 1952.
The big man was a matchup nightmare for his former team, changing the game with his post-ups as the Wizards could not stop him.
“A lot of times, we just let him go to work. He’s gonna get fouled, he’s gonna shoot over the top, and you can’t get bored with that,” Tatum said. “It’s the right play. We’ve got to do that five, six times in a row, find a switch, get him the ball, and move out of the way. That’s what we gotta do.”
While Tatum and Porzingis dominated, the efforts of Brown, who finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, and three assists, and Jrue Holiday, who finished with 20 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, were somewhat overshadowed – speaking to the talent on Boston’s roster.
“Have you ever seen Spider-Man … Into the Spider-Verse? Where there are like 20 different Spider-mans?” Mazzulla asked a reporter postgame. “That’s like our team.”
There may not quite be 20 different Spider-Mans. However, five different All-Stars are helping the Celtics webwhip their opponents.
“I guess everybody’s gotta be Spider-Man out there. Whatever that means, Brown said postgame.”
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