BOSTON — The Celtics looked like they were going to cruise to a blowout victory over the Pacers on Tuesday, building up a 20-point lead as part of a historic scoring first half. They poured in 81 points in the first half as the buckets came easy and the Pacers couldn’t generate enough stops.
But the Pacers stormed back to wipe away their deficit and even take the lead in the third quarter. That’s part of the modern NBA where big leads aren’t safe because teams can get hot from 3, among other areas. And in an interesting twist, C’s coach Joe Mazzulla revealed recently that he actually enjoys it when his teams blows leads — just like in the 129-124 win over the Pacers.
“I hope we have to blow leads,” Mazzulla said after the Pelicans win. “I hope all that happens. I really do. So that’s what I think. I think it’s just like, at times we’re just supposed to be winning all the time. And that’s just not the case. So we have to stay the course. Sometimes you can be losing because you’re playing good basketball. It’s just the result isn’t being achieved.”
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Mazzulla explained how the Celtics are often expected to blowout teams because they have the best record in the league. But it’s the NBA, where teams are going to give the C’s their best shot on a nightly basis. So there’s a process the team has to go through where it needs to earn its win, much like it did in two impressive victories over the Pelicans then Pacers as part of a back-to-back.
As Mazzulla put it, there’s often a sense of entitlement when it comes to the Celtics and how games are supposed to go. The team isn’t entitled, he clarified, just the outside noise. But reality is often different, where there’s no guarantee the more talented team wins on a consistent basis. That takes winning habits and execution, which also aren’t guaranteed over the course of an 82-game season. Mazzulla has, of course, shared that mindset of enjoying blown leads to his team, which Jrue Holiday backed up.
“It’s a learning experience,” Holiday said. “We’ve gotta be able to be battle-tested. We’ve gotta be able to fight through everything, fight through expectations, fight through being up 20 and then somebody having a great third quarter and then finishing games. If it feels easy the whole time, then what’s the fun in that? No, I don’t like blowing leads like that, but I think being able to battle back and win those is huge for us.”
So it’s all still a process for the Celtics as they continue to build some sweat equity. Grinding out victories like the Pacers win Tuesday are valuable — especially come the playoffs. While the C’s are plenty talented, they’re still tinkering with lineups and how to win on a consistent basis. And in some cases, that’s a positive as the Celtics learn some lessons during the regular season. Kristaps Porzingis said he agreed with Mazzulla’s opinion about entitlement.
“When he said that, that was so on point,” Porzingis said. “I couldn’t agree more. We are really good and we can win games without being 100 percent locked in. We can still win games, but that’s not what we’re trying to achieve. We want to be the best version of this team that we can be. And that’s why we need to lock in each and every game, each and every quarter, each and every possession, as long as we can.”
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