Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla explains players’ behavior in brutal 4th quarter vs. 76ers

Entering the second half, the Boston Celtics appeared to be in cruise control against the Philadelphia 76ers in a closeout Game 5 at TD Garden. They were defending the 76ers well, hitting their threes, and were executing smoothly on offense. Even as Joel Embiid got into a roll in the third quarter, the Celtics were keeping Philly at bay, with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combining for 19 points in the period.

However, everything fell apart for the Celtics in the fourth quarter. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong; they shot a ghastly 3-22 from the field in the final frame (2-8 from deep) and a shocking 3-7 from the charity stripe. The 76ers deserve credit for locking down on defense, but even then, the Celtics shot themselves in the foot over and over again with their poor play.

After the game, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla gave an honest review of what he saw from his players in the fourth as they let Game 5 slip away, 113-97, which means that the series will be heading back to Philadelphia for Game 6 on Thursday night.

“I don’t think it was necessarily from the threes, it’s the understanding of we’re in a good position and didn’t execute … it just gets frustrating,” Mazzulla said, per Bobby Manning of CLNS.

The Celtics surely knew the gravity of the moment; closing out the game means that they some time to rest before the second round of the playoffs begins. Moreover, it prevents the 76ers from getting a chance to extend the series to seven games, especially with a home game awaiting them.

But Boston’s offense simply ran cold, and the 76ers got key contributions from Quentin Grimes and the rest of the team were able to control the glass, eliminating a few of the Celtics’ win conditions on the night.

Nonetheless, the Celtics remain in control of the series; they won two games in Xfinity Mobile Arena, and who’s to say they couldn’t win a third come Thursday night?

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