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Joe Mazzulla Explains Why Celtics Didn't Call Final Timeout in Gutting Game 2 Loss

Mazzulla knew he had the timeout available.

Josh Wilson

Mazzulla and the Celtics find themselves in a two-game deficit heading on the road.
Mazzulla and the Celtics find themselves in a two-game deficit heading on the road. / @NBA on X (formerly Twitter)
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The Boston Celtics, heavy favorites to win their second-round series against the New York Knicks, now find themselves in a two-game hole going on the road for Games 3 and 4. They boasted a heavy third-quarter lead (sound familiar?) in Game 3, but the Knicks clawed back in it, ultimately winning in the waning seconds off free-throws and a great defensive play from Mikal Bridges. Everyone was stunned, even the Knicks who were making it happen.

Before the final Celtics' possession was shut down by the staunch Knicks' defense, Boston had a remaining timeout head coach Joe Mazzulla could have used to slow down, advance the ball, and draw up a play. After the game, he explained in his press conference why he opted to let the Celtics go, keeping the timeout in his pocket.

"Had one [timeout] left, got a good look on the same exact play 20 seconds earlier, tried to execute the exact same thing, they did a better job of their lower pickup point and we weren't able to get the advantage that we had on that last Tatum dunk," Mazzulla said. "Good full-court setting," he added, hinting at why he didn't advance the ball for a side-out situation.

Mazzulla kept the timeout in his pocket because he liked the live ball action the Celtics had coming out of the free-throws.

It's easy to critique the call in retrospect, but the thought process isn't terribly flawed. Mazzulla liked the play earlier and didn't see a need to overthink it, since the play got Tatum, his star, a good look. The case against holding the timeout is strong, though. It would have given Boston a chance to think over the play call, advance the ball, and make sure everyone was on the same page before executing.

Now, all the Celtics can do is live with the result and turn their attention to Game 3.

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Josh Wilson
JOSH WILSON

Josh Wilson is the news director of the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in 2024, he worked for FanSided in a variety of roles, most recently as senior managing editor of the brand’s flagship site. He has also served as a general manager of Sportscasting, the sports arm of a start-up sports media company, where he oversaw the site’s editorial and business strategy. Wilson has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from SUNY Cortland and a master’s in accountancy from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. He loves a good nonfiction book and enjoys learning and practicing Polish. Wilson lives in Chicago but was raised in upstate New York. He spent most of his life in the Northeast and briefly lived in Poland, where he ate an unhealthy amount of pastries for six months.

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