Inside The Celtics

Joe Mazzulla Gives His Perspective on Celtics’ Loss to Magic

The short-handed Boston Celtics lost control vs. the Orlando Magic in their first In-Season Tournament loss.

Rob Greene

Jeremy Reper-USA TODAY Sports
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Missing some starters, the Boston Celtics fell to the Orlando Magic 113-96 for their first In-Season Tournament loss. The team was without Jrue Holiday due to an ankle sprain, and Kristaps Porzingis left the game with left calf tightness. Jaylen Brown had it going in the first half, but he and Jayson Tatum had fairly quiet games.

The Magic continued to show their premier defense, holding the Celtics under 100 points for their sixth consecutive win. Orlando out-rebounded Boston by 17. The Celtics, who missed ten free throws, could not get anything going in the second half against the Magic's defense. Worse, the visitor's effort was mediocre.

After the loss, Joe Mazzulla shared his perspective on what sent the game south for his team.

"(We) gave up transition threes," said Boston's bench boss. "It started out with a (Jalen) Suggs hit a contested three, which I thought was good defense. And then we came down and missed an open three by KP, and then came down and gave up an open three to Franz Wagner, and then we came down and missed a shot in the post, and then they came down and Suggs hit another three."

Mazzulla also talked about how the Celtics got lazy after playing solid basketball for the most part.

"And we came down and threw a lazy pass and turned it over, and then we got a take foul, and then, before you know it, it's a different game," he conveyed. "That team does a great job of making runs like that, and we just didn't execute, and you have to guard them in transition. The best thing they do is play in transition, get to the free-throw line, and offensive rebound. And so, tonight, we did a decent job on the free throws, did a poor job in transition, and a poor job on the offensive glass."

The Celtics' head coach continued talking about the game's turning point.

"It was two stretches where they go on that 17-0 run in the middle of the third, and then they went on a run in the middle of the second," expressed Mazzulla. "Outside of those two bad stretches, we played real good basketball, but that's not enough against a team like this; this is a good team. And so those two stretches cost us."

The Celtics will look to bounce back Sunday night in Boston in their first meeting of the season with the Atlanta Hawks.

Further Reading

The Latest on Kristaps Porzingis After Exiting Celtics' Loss to Magic

Celtics' Loss to Magic Highlights Their Most Concerning Traits

Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis Discuss Their Quickly Cultivated Chemistry: 'An Automatic Connection'

Here's What Stood Out as Celtics Best Bucks to Stay atop East at Thanksgiving

Jrue Holiday Shares His Perspective on First Matchup vs. Bucks Since They Traded Him

Kristaps Porzingis Explains Why Celtics Have NBA's Best Clutch Record

Celtics Discuss Significance of Rivalry Win vs. 76ers for No. 1 Seed in East

Joe Mazzulla Believes Celtics' Second Unit is 'Starting to Develop an Identity'

Kristaps Porzingis Discusses Chemistry with Jaylen Brown: 'I Love Playing with Him'

Kristaps Porzingis Gives Glimpse of How He'll Boost Celtics Late-Game Offense

Under Joe Mazzulla, Celtics Rebuilding Brotherhood Between Past and Present

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Rob Greene
ROB GREENE

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