Monday night’s game between the Boston Celtics and Charlotte Hornets was the second night of a back-to-back.
Boston played without Al Horford and Derrick White to finish the four-game road trip. Despite such setbacks, the Celtics maintained a lead of up to 18 points, with a nine-point cushion in the last two minutes. After giving Charlotte too many additional possessions, Boston eventually gave up and the Hornets came back to win 121-118 in overtime,
handing Boston just its third loss of the year. The Hornets found methods to gain the upper hand against the Celtics, from giving up offensive rebounds to failing to recover defensively during transitions.
The Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla reportedly said to reporters, “29 points in transition, 20 second-chance points, and 17 offensive rebounds,”
according to NBC Sports Boston’s postgame coverage. “Regardless of who you’re playing, that isn’t a formula for success. In particular, these individuals never stop playing. They run at such a high pace. We allowed them to run.
The squad displayed discipline in their early defensive attempts against the Hornets, according to Mazzulla, but Charlotte managed to work hard for further opportunities.
There are various ways to view discipline, according to Mazzulla. “I believed that our first-shot defence was disciplined.” We were careless when it came to blocking shots and grabbing defensive rebounds. On other evenings, it may appear differently. All we need is the ability to carry out those tasks.
Before dropping the final game of the road trip, the Celtics had won three of their previous four games. This was only their third defeat in 11 games this season.
Mazzulla realised that there are important lessons to be learned from failures. Nevertheless, Mazzulla stated, “We have to learn something from every game.” This is our first game in overtime.
We have never blown a lead before. We need to go back and see why we did what we did. That results from squandering plays and failing to complete possessions. Charlotte deserves praise for her unwavering commitment to her game.
On Wednesday at TD Garden, the Celtics will try to respond with a big game against the Milwaukee Bucks.
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