Mazzulla relishes in ‘chaos’ for Celtics’ bench in wild win vs. Kings initially appeared on NBC Sports activities Boston
BOSTON — With the NBA’s No. 1 seed already wrapped up, Joe Mazzulla has needed to get artistic to maintain his workforce motivated and engaged down the stretch.
For higher or worse, a golden alternative arose Friday night time at TD Backyard.
The Celtics led the Sacramento Kings by 14 factors with just below 10 minutes remaining within the fourth quarter when Mazzulla pulled his starters and handed the keys to the second unit. Boston’s lead ballooned to as many as 19 with six minutes remaining.
That is when De’Aaron Fox and the Kings ripped off a 20-1 run in opposition to Boston’s backups to take a one-point lead with underneath 10 seconds to go. Celtics ahead Xavier Tillman performed the hero, nonetheless, hitting a floater within the lane with 7.2 seconds remaining to assist his workforce escape with a dramatic 101-100 victory.
Most head coaches would not take pleasure in watching their workforce blow a 19-point lead over a six-minute span. However Mazzulla relished in the truth that Sacramento’s late run created a stress scenario for his second unit.
“That is enjoyable. That is superior,” Mazzulla mentioned when requested what he was considering because the Kings made their run in opposition to the second unit. “Couldn’t simulate a greater atmosphere of stress, stress, chaos. It’s an ideal atmosphere to execute.
“So, that’s why when these guys are in, you maintain them to the identical customary that you simply maintain everyone else to. I believed they did an amazing job simply making performs. … I believed it was an ideal atmosphere for observe.”
Take a look at Mazzulla’s full feedback within the video participant above.
The Celtics can afford to “observe” with a 14-game lead over the No. 2 seed Milwaukee Bucks within the Jap Convention. Earlier than Wednesday’s recreation in opposition to the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder, Mazzulla ran one other “simulation,” telling his gamers to think about the matchup because the closeout recreation of a playoff sequence. They responded with a 135-100 blowout victory.
On Friday night time, it was the bench’s flip to get “crunch time” minutes. And whereas the ultimate six minutes could not have been fairly, there have been loads of positives on the second unit, from Payton Pritchard’s 21 factors to Tillman’s 9 factors, 4 rebounds, two assists and one game-winner.
“I really feel prefer it’s essential,” Mazzulla mentioned about his resolution to maintain Boston’s reserves in whilst Sacramento made its run. “Like, these guys are not any completely different than anyone else. They’ve gained video games for us prior to now, they’ve began video games for us. All people will get handled on the similar degree – the best degree.
“You’ve got to have the ability to win video games with completely different guys, and I felt prefer it was essential in that specific second that they earned the correct to do no matter it took to win the sport, due to the work they put in.”
Anticipate extra experimenting from Mazzulla and Co. on Sunday when the Celtics host the lowly Portland Path Blazers at 6 p.m. ET.