The Celtics found themselves in another close game with the Pelicans just like they did earlier this month. Considering their recent crunch-time woes, it was a perfect test that resulted in a Jayson Tatum game-winner with 0.2 seconds left in the game to lead the Celtics on top of the Pelicans.
There was also another interesting wrinkle from Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla down the stretch. While the rest of the C’s starters were on the court for crunch-time, Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford were subbed in and out of the final few minutes of Friday’s game. It was an offense-defense move where Porzingis was subbed in for offensive possessions when there was a stoppage in play and vice versa for Horford and defensive possessions.
“Just different looks,” Mazzulla told reporters in New Orleans. “We need to play different ways, different coverages. Give them different ones. We just needed to change the matchup and give them a different coverage, looking to take away the 3 and so just kind of do that.”
The Celtics were at full strength Friday with Horford making his return after a two-game absence. That resulted in Mazzulla tinkering with the closing lineup. Porzingis was having a solid game defensively Friday, finishing with three steals and four blocks to go with his 16 points.
But Mazzulla elected to go with Horford for some key defensive possessions down the stretch. Porzingis is also susceptible against shooters on the perimeter, so that was likely part of the equation even though the big man made his defensive presence known Friday.
So that’s another tool to consider for this loaded Celtics roster. Mazzulla recently talked about some of their crunch-time woes, so he decided to shake things up to see how his players and team responded. It’s also the regular season, so it’s the perfect time to experiment to see the full depth of his roster and how he can maximize possessions.
“For me, nothing changed,” Porzingis said of the subbing patterns. “We trust Al and he comes in for defense and when my name gets called, I’m always ready. Nothing changed.”
The C’s had to grind out another win over an upset-minded, shorthanded Pelicans team Friday. While New Orleans lost Dejounte Murray in the first quarter to a season-ending injury, guys like Trey Murphy III (40 points) and Jose Alvarado (20 points) gave them fits throughout the night.
The Celtics are now on a two-game winning streak after Friday’s victory to put them at 34-15 this season. They’re in the middle of a three-game road trip as they’ll look to string together some victories, which has been a relative struggle over the past couple months.
“That game should have not been that close, but it was,” Porzingis said. “That’s a little bit been our luck this season, regular season. But I believe it will turn and we just have to stay with it and keep playing hard.”
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