It’s tough to get on a coach when his team boasts a 20-6 record and leads the Eastern Conference. Boston Celtics fans, however, were quick to rip head coach Joe Mazzulla after his team blew a 17-point lead in the third quarter and dropped a 132-126 overtime decision to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, December 19.
After the game, Mazzulla said he loved the looks his team got all night. He said the shots simply didn’t fall. Celtics fans had no problem jumping all over Mazzulla when it was all said and done.
Joe Mazzulla Takes Heat After Celtics Lost to Warriors
The Celtics held a comfortable 87-70 lead in the third quarter on the road against the Warriors. They blew it as Steph Curry led a wild comeback.
Boston misfired on 41 of its 58 3-point attempts in the game. According to Mazzulla, the Celtics also missed 20 layups.
After the game, Mazzulla was asked if he liked the shot selection and what happened to his team that allowed Golden State to shock the Celtics.
“I did like it,” he said of the shot selection. “We missed 20 layups in that game and 41 threes. They went on their run in the non-Curry minutes. They did a good job of getting offensive rebounds and playing in transition.
When you play against a team like that, as much as you focus on the star, the margins are important. We lost the least with transition, some offensive rebounds.
“I thought we got great looks the entire night. Just didn’t make ’em.”
While the shooting was poor, Celtics fans turned to Mazzulla in venting their frustration after their sixth loss in 26 games.
The “got great looks” like seemed to irk many, especially after Jayson Tatum rushed a 3-pointer at the end of regulation when the Celtics still had a timeout.
Mazzulla was asked if he considered using that timeout.
“Yeah, I did consider it, but we were on the same page,” he said. “I thought Tatum did a great job of coming to get the ball. He was comfortable with the spacing and the opportunity to play on that.”
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