"That’ll never happen if you don’t run back on defense and execute" - Joe Mazzulla issues indirect warning to Celtics with NBA title in sight
Joe Mazzulla's Boston Celtics can secure this year's NBA championship at home during Monday's Game 5 NBA Finals face-off against the Dallas Mavericks. Ahead of their second close-out opportunity, Mazzulla took an indirect shot at his team's Game 4 letdown performance.
Up 3-0 with a chance to sweep Dallas at American Airlines Center on Friday, Boston dropped the ball, suffering a historic 122-84 blowout defeat. The 38-point beatdown marked the largest through 23 finals series for arguably the NBA's most storied franchise. Before Game 4, the Celtics' worst finals loss came back in 1984 against the LA Lakers (137-104).
Boston shot only 29-for-80 (36.3%), allowing Dallas to shoot an efficient 46-for-91 (50.5%). Meanwhile, it was outrebounded 52-31 as it fell behind by as many as 48 points in the fourth quarter.
Nevertheless, the lopsided road loss provided the Celtics with a chance to hoist the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy at TD Garden.
On Sunday, Mazzulla was asked "what it would mean" to him to join "a very special fraternity of coaches in Boston that have won titles." However, the sophomore head coach seemingly wasn't interested in answering questions about his accolades.
Mazzulla instead flipped the question around, indirectly calling out his squad's Game 4 shortcomings.
"That’ll never happen if you don’t run back on defense, rebound, execute, and get to your spacing," Mazzulla said.
Time will tell how Boston responds in front of its home crowd in Game 5. However, Mazzulla appears as locked in as ever with his first championship within reach.
Amid Joe Mazzulla indirectly calling out Celtics, Jaylen Brown highlights key to them securing NBA title
While Joe Mazzulla is seemingly still frustrated with Boston's Game 4 performance, Celtics star wing Jaylen Brown appears confident in his team's bounce-back ability.
On Sunday, Brown, Boston's leading scorer through four finals outings (20.8 points per game), was asked what his recent messaging has been to his teammates. The three-time All-Star highlighted how the Celtics' chemistry remains strong with a championship in sight. He added that they just need to be reminded to play sound team basketball.
"This is what we've all worked for. So, we are at the precipice of completing what we set out to do at the beginning of the season," Brown said. "So, I think it's not difficult to get everyone in that locker room on the same page right now. Just need to remind everybody that it's just one possession at a time, we do it together, and we fight like our lives depend on it."
Despite Friday's loss, Boston boasts a 15-3 playoff record, including an 8-2 home mark. Moreover, before Game 4, it won a franchise-best 10 consecutive postseason contests.
History is also in the Celtics' favor, as no NBA team has ever blown a 3-0 lead in a best-of-seven playoff series (156-0). So, given their postseason dominance and home-court advantage, they should have a prime opportunity to close out the Mavericks in Game 5.
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