Celtics coach makes startling admission after defeat leaves season on the brink

10 May 2023 , 13:11

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Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla was left to rue a bad day at the office as the Celtics fell behind in their semi-final (Image: Getty) (Image: Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)

Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla has admitted that a “really bad” game came at the worst possible time as defeat to the Philadelphia 76ers leaves them on the brink of NBA play-off elimination.

The Celtics lost 115-103 in the Game Five clash of the Eastern Conference semi-finals on Tuesday. After defeat to a James Harden-inspired Sixers on Sunday it means that Mazzulla and the Celtics trail 3-2 in the best-of-seven series going into Game Six on Thursday.

Joel Embiid led the scoring for the 76ers with 33 points, seven rebounds and three assists. He was supported by Tyrese Maxey with 30 points and James Harden with 17 points to leave the Celtics at the point of no return.

After winning two of the first three games in the series, the Celtics cannot afford to lose another game if they are to reach the Eastern Conference final. Mazzulla spoke after the defeat to the 76ers and admitted that the Celtics did not play well.

"That was our first really, really bad game of the playoffs,” Mazzulla told ESPN. “It doesn't come at necessarily the best time, but we just have to shift our perspective and we've got to get ready to play the next game."

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Celtics forward Jayson Tatum was the top scorer of Game Five with 36 points, as well as 10 rebounds and five assists. The 25-year-old failed to score with his first five shots in the first quarter, but says the disappointment of the defeat will be put behind him and the Celtics.

Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

"We just didn't have it today," said Tatum. "There's nothing we can do about tonight.

"It happened. It's unfortunate. We wish we could change it, but that's not how life works. Can't go back in time."

Tatum’s team-mate Jaylen Brown was also very honest with his assessment of the Celtics’ performance in Game Five. The guard, who scored 24 points, says that he and his team-mates made too many mistakes which ultimately cost them against the 76ers.

"We dropped the ball tonight," said Brown. "Couldn't stay in front of anybody.

“Couldn't get a stop when we needed to. Missed a lot of wide-open shots, gave everything up that they wanted us to give up. That was the story of the game. But got to have a short-term memory."

Mark Wakefield