Luka Garza, Joe Mazzulla, Explain Wild Game-Winning Shot to Beat Orlando Magic

The Boston Celtics threw a bunch of former two-way guys out against a Magic team trying to win, and Garza's hero shot gave them another improbable moment to celebrate

Apr 12, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Luka Garza (52) celebrates with Boston Celtics guard John Tonje (8) during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images | Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

Joe Mazzulla called a timeout with 36 seconds left in a tie game knowing his Boston Celtics could get two chances at scoring if they hurried. They had about five or six seconds to execute a two-for-one situation and make sure they’d get the last chance to score, just in case Orlando made a basket. 

“We drew up a play for me to come off a screen,” Luka Garza said after the game. “We wanted to go for the two-for-one, so I knew once I caught it, I had to go up with it.”

He did, with Wendell Carter Jr. right in his face. And he drilled it. 

Garzilla came in CLUTCH 👌

Luka Garza with the big time three in tonight's @JetBlue Play of the Game pic.twitter.com/Rv25yZNfUh

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 13, 2026

“I just knew I wanted to get it off quick and obviously I tried to face up,” Garza explained. “It was kind of a wild shot, but I'm glad I went in.”

So where the 19,000 or so people at TD Garden, who exploded when that shot fell. The crowd showed up not knowing what to expect, but as the game wore on and Boston never let the Magic pull away, the crowd got more and more into it. When the Celtics flipped the game in the third quarter, out-scoring the Magic 42-20, the building was as loud as it had been all season. 

“I think they helped us get that third-quarter run, and I think they kept us in it,” Joe Mazzulla said. “But I think the great thing about our fans is, one, they're smart, they know good basketball. Two, they care about winning. They care about playing the right way, and I think as they see that, that's what they want to see.”

It’s not often a team trying to win its 56th game of the season can call itself the underdog, but that's what the Celtics were with the eight guys they had available. Half of those guys were on two-way contracts. A fifth, Dalano Banton, was signed so recently that his name isn’t even on his locker yet. That left Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh, and Garza as the main players (as opposed to the rest of the guys being the Maine players).

So when the Celtics needed a quick bucket, Mazzulla went to the guy shooting 43% on the season, coaching this rag tag bunch the same way he’d coach Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

“Very rarely, you're in a situation like that, one timeout, 35 seconds, you get the two-for-one,” Mazzulla said. “So it's a credit to Luka to just get a play off there, but that allowed us to kind of play situational basketball.”

Just like almost everything else this season, things worked out almost perfectly for the Celtics. A highly improbable season ended with a highly improbable win and a highly improbable hero. Add it to the list of things no one could have predicted. 

But that's part of what makes it so cool.  

“It felt awesome ,” Garza said. “Seeing it go in, just feeling the crowd too, it was definitely a top moment for me.”