Mazzulla admits he should have called a timeout at end of overtime

BOSTON -- Joe Mazzulla was pretty bullish about his late-game decisions during Sunday afternoon's Game 4 overtime loss to the 76ers. The Celtics head coach opted to leave his timeouts in Philly, letting the game play out at the end of both regulation and overtime.

The Celtics needed a bucket in both instances, but failed to execute in either situation. Marcus Smart's potential game-winner clanged off the rim in regulation, and his potential game-winner at the end of overtime left his hands a second after the final buzzer sounded. Instead of stealing a 3-1 series lead, the Celtics now head back knotted with the 76ers at two games apiece.

After Sunday's loss, Mazzulla didn't offer up much of an explanation for keeping his timeouts. It's something he's explained over and over and over again throughout the season, whether he's opted to keep the game going during an opponent's run or letting his players figure it out at the end of games. He trusts his players, and trusts his players will make the right play at the right time.

He still trusts his group, but on Monday, Mazzulla changed his time-out tune a bit. He admitted that he should have called a timeout in overtime, either right after James Harden sank a go-ahead three with 18 seconds left or when it was clear his players didn't have the sense of urgency they should have possessed on their ensuing possession.

Between Marcus Smart and Jayson Tatum, they wasted roughly 12.5 seconds of that final overtime possession. Smart slowly brought the ball up the floor, and Tatum took a few extra seconds to start his attack of the basket. By the time he drove and dished it back to Smart on the perimeter, the C's point guard had no chance at getting the shot off on time.

Tatum admitted fault in his ways after the game, saying he should have driven to the hoop much sooner than he did. On Monday, Mazzulla admitted that he should have called a timeout to get his team going -- or at least try to get them another look or possession.

He's still confident in his way of doing things, but Mazzulla at least accepted there is some fault in those ways.

"It's something we talked about all year. I trust our guys to make the right play and it prevents the other team from getting matchups off the floor and getting their defense organized," said Mazzulla on Monday. "At the end of overtime, hindsight is always 20/20 and I should have called it to help us get a 2-for-1 or a couple more possessions. Obviously with 14 seconds left, down one, you want to get as many chances as you can. I'll definitely learn from that."

Mazzulla still defended the decision because it kept some of Philly's lesser defenders -- most notably, Harden and Tyrese Maxey -- on the floor. And it should be noted that Mazzulla did call a timeout back in Boston's Game 1 loss after Harden hit a go-ahead shot to put Philadelphia up 117-115 with 8.1 seconds to go.

That allowed Doc Rivers to sub De'Andre Melton in for Maxey and Paul Reed for Georgo Niang. When Smart drove to the basket after the timeout, Reed was waiting for him and came up with the game-sealing steal.

"If it doesn't go well, it's a mistake," Mazzulla said of his Game 4 decisions on Monday. "The two lessons you learn from that is call it right away, get a 2-for-1 or two shots or a couple of extra possessions. Or we have to have a clear understanding as a team that we have to go faster to get a shot. We've done both over the course of the season, but didn't execute either one in that situation. 

"From that standpoint, when we're losing pace, I have to call a timeout so we can get a shot up earlier," he said.

Given some of his more recent press conferences, this is a huge step for the first-year head coach. After the Celtics won Game 2 in Boston, Mazzulla was braggadocious of the in-game adjustments that pundits said he was unable to see -- or make -- after Game 1.  

At least on Monday, he was willing to admit his fault. Now we'll see if he has learned from the mistake should it present itself again this postseason.