Celtics' Joe Mazzulla drops 'outplayed' admission after Hawks loss
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BOSTON — The Boston Celtics are expected to dominate, and they’ve done just that for an entire year. However, they have lapses, especially on Tuesday night against the shorthanded Atlanta Hawks.
Although the Hawks were without star point guard Trae Young and shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, they erased a 15-point deficit at TD Garden and shocked the C’s, prevailing 117-116. Boston had a chance to escape with a victory after going up 116-113 with 54 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Yet, the Green Team couldn’t get stops when they needed to.
Thanks to a floater from undrafted guard Keaton Wallace and a timely tip-in basket from center Onyeka Okongwu, the Hawks tallied four points in the final 43 seconds to complete the comeback. Celtics star Jaylen Brown tried to retake the lead with a jumper at the buzzer, but it was off the mark.
BIG O FOR THE WIN pic.twitter.com/yGZnbvcuRb
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) November 13, 2024
The C’s pride themselves on taking every game in the regular season seriously and maintaining a consistent level of effort. That wasn’t the case on Tuesday, and Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla admitted it.
“They outplayed us in every facet of the game,” he acknowledged. “Beat us on all the margins. They deserved to win.”
Mazzulla was telling the truth, as the Hawks had a whopping 20 offensive rebounds, with five of those coming in the fourth quarter. Boston grabbed just six offensive rebounds on the night (and none in the final 12 minutes).
“Give credit to Atlanta. They came out, played physical, and we didn’t,” Brown told reporters following the disappointing defeat.
Jaylen Brown respected the Hawks' effort tonight:
"Give credit to Atlanta. They came out and played physical, and we didn't." pic.twitter.com/G17YCq0Lzt
— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) November 13, 2024
What went wrong for the Celtics against the Hawks?
Boston has been outrebounded in all three of its losses this season. It’s also been outscored in the paint in those same three outings. The Hawks had 36 more points in the paint than the C’s and won the rebounding war, 45-34.
Typically, the Celtics have starting center Kristaps Porzingis to monitor the paint and nab rebounds. But, due to offseason surgery, Porzingis has been sidelined all season long and likely won’t see the floor until December. Without the 7-footer, Boston has occasionally struggled to keep bigs, such as Okongwu and Hawks center Clint Capela, off the boards and away from the rim.
“Yes, absolutely,” Mazzulla answered when asked if his guys could improve their rim protection. “We can get better at that.”
Joe Mazzulla said the Celtics have to work on their rim protection: pic.twitter.com/8lHCeZfKCA
— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) November 13, 2024
Celtics centers Al Horford, Luke Kornet, and Neemias Queta have been forced to step up in Porzingis’ absence. They’ve usually been up to the task, but they combined for 11 rebounds, eight points, and two blocks against the Hawks.
The issues on Tuesday went beyond the big men, though. Atlanta took advantage of smaller defenders near the basket and hustled for practically every rebound. The Celtics did not share that sense of desperation.
“They played hard and more physical than we did,” Mazzulla claimed. “They got 20 offensive rebounds and forced us into 20 turnovers.”
Five-time All-Star Jayson Tatum agreed with his third-year coach.
“He was right,” he said. “We didn’t play well enough to deserve the win and they did.”
Hawks guard Dyson Daniels brought his best for the NBA Cup contest, posting a career-high 28 points while pestering the C’s with six steals. Forward Larry Nance Jr. showed out too, recording a season-high 19 points and draining five of his six attempts from beyond the arc.
Dyson Daniels with ANOTHER steal 
Daniels has 5 steals tonight, and 22 steals over his last 4 games
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 13, 2024
Despite Atlanta’s impressive performance, Boston could’ve easily walked away with a win. It shot above 50% from the field and slightly over 40% from deep. However, when the Celtics had the Hawks on the brink of a blowout, they let up and never did enough to put them away.
“I think, mentally, we were just too careless tonight,” Brown admitted. “We expected to win, too careless.”
The Celtics were also careless with the ball. They turned it over 20 times (a season-high) and lost possession at a critical point in the game, giving Atlanta the ball after a pass bounced out of bounds with only four seconds to go in the fourth quarter.
That untimely mistake encapsulated the Celtics’ woes versus the now 5-7 Hawks. Fortunately, they’ll have a chance at redemption soon. Less than 24 hours after their stunning loss, the 9-3 C’s can start fresh and face the 5-6 Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday evening.
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