The 2024 Boston Celtics don't lose often. In fact, they sit at the top of the NBA with the fewest losses, just having racked up seven. But among six of those seven losses there's at least one major commonality: dismal third quarters.
Sure, sure – fourth quarters get all the attention in a league of buzzer beaters, meltdowns, and (ugh) official reviews that last several minutes. But third quarter execution easily demonstrates how a team maintains their level of play, or better adjusts to match up to their opponent.
"You go back and look at close games, and they're never really lost in the fourth quarter," Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said following a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers earlier this season, though he conceded, as all Celtics fans witnessed in the 2023 Playoffs, "Sometimes they are."
The Sixers outscored the Celtics 20-17 in the third quarter of that loss, but that was the smallest margin by which the Celtics lost a third quarter in a loss.
Boston showed how bad things can get after halftime in Oklahoma City to start off the New Year, getting outscored 40-25 by the young run-and-gun Thunder.
Both games illustrate the extremes of lost third quarters, but in between, the Celtics also got outscored by the Pacers, Magic, Hornets, and Timberwolves in third quarters that eventually led to losses. The only outlier is the Golden State Warriors, whom the Celtics outscored 32-24 in the third quarter.
Mazzulla has preached emotional maturity and mental toughness to his team, and their recent West Coast road trip showcased how his players are taking that message to heart. After that Warriors loss, they handily beat highly regarded teams in the Kings, Clippers, and Lakers.
So why do they occasionally play like the turd of the third? It's hard to say, although Mazzulla cited the team giving up transition threes to their opponent in lousy third quarters against both the Magic and Hornets. When combined with live ball turnovers, that can be a lethal combination.
"Before you know it, it's a different game," Mazzulla recounted after the team's Nov. 24 loss to Orlando.
Overall, the Celtics average a +1.6 third quarter margin. That's ninth in the league, but behind other upper-tier teams like the Sixers, Thunder, Timberwolves, Nuggets, and Bucks.
There's plenty to love about this squad. If they're looking for a place to improve, it's consistency coming out of halftime.
