Joe Mazzulla makes his feelings clear on lack of excitement despite victory - "It sounds like a morgue in here"

Joe Mazzulla's Boston Celtics held on for a last-second 120-119 home win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday. However, the reigning NBA champion coach appeared less than enthused about his team's victory, underscoring the Celtics' place in the standings in contrast to their expectations.

Coming off a 114-97 home loss to the shorthanded Sacramento Kings on Friday, Boston started flat against New Orleans. It fell behind by 11 points in the first quarter before rallying to take the lead, led by superstar forward Jayson Tatum's game-high 38-point performance.

However, the Celtics nearly collapsed in the closing seconds. Up by one point with 6.6 seconds remaining, shooting guard Derrick White was called for a five-second violation.

The blunder gave Pelicans veteran shooting guard CJ McCollum a chance to win the game. However, McCollum overshot a running floater with around two seconds to go, allowing Boston to prevail.

After the contest, Mazzulla stressed the 28-11 Celtics' need to continue improving to meet the standards they've set for themselves.

"I would say the ultimate compliment is we're 28-11, and these are the types of conversations that we're having. So, it's a beautiful place to be in," Mazzulla said. "I'm serious. I think it's great. It's a great standard and a great expectation to have, and we have to deliver. So, we all know that, and it's a process toward it."

Mazzulla added that Boston isn't satisfied with having the NBA's third-best record after finishing atop the league last season (64-18) en route to a title.

"But when you're — what are we, the third team in the league right now? — Which isn't great," Mazzulla said. "... It sounds like a morgue in here, and that's how it should be because of where we're trying to get to. So, it's the ultimate compliment, and we just continue to work through it."

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Joe Mazzulla offers brief input on Celtics' late-game slip-up against Pelicans

As for Derrick White's failure to inbound the ball late against New Orleans, Joe Mazzulla seemingly had no interest in discussing the mishap.

During his postgame interview, Mazzulla was asked what he saw on the play and whether White should have called a timeout. He simply said, "Yup," before proceeding to the next question. So, the third-year coach doesn't appear to be dwelling on the turnover.

Joe Mazzulla and Co. will look to gain further ground in the league standings on Wednesday when they visit the lowly Toronto Raptors (8-31).

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