The Celtics found themselves in a tough situation in overtime on Monday night, allowing the Wolves to run away with the game with a 9-0 run in the extra frame. The outburst led to a 114-109 victory for the Timberwolves, handing the Celtics their first loss of the season after a 5-0 start. Boston was also without starting guard Derrick White in the defeat.
Joe Mazzulla elected not to call a timeout during the game-changing sequence in overtime and was asked after the game about his decision.
“We like to save our timeouts to have two (late),” Mazzulla told reporters. “When it’s a five-point game, we went to the flip play and KP got to the free throw line and cut it to a one possession game.”
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The Celtics did cut the Wolves lead to three after a Jayson Tatum with 35 seconds remaining in overtime. However, a Jaden McDaniels jumper on the ensuing possession sealed the win for Minnesota, who improved to 4-2 on the year.
Mazzulla had preferred to let his players play without stoppages down the stretch of games, a tendency that did not go well for this group last season. This time around, Mazzulla did not seem to have any regrets despite the tough performance down the stretch by his group.
“I thought that was a hell of a game,” Mazzulla said. “It was a lot of fun. Very competitive. Our opponents are always going to bring the best out of us. So I thought we competed at a high level, but I thought their defensive toughness outmatched our offensive toughness at times. But I thought both teams played a really good game for game 6 of the year.”
The Celtics will close out their road trip on Wednesday night in Philadelphia in a battle of the top two teams in the East to begin the year.
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