After an entertaining first half that saw the Suns and Celtics put on a shot-making exhibition on Thursday night in Boston, Phoenix was unable to hold that same standard in the second half as the Celtics ran away with a 127-112 win at home.
It was an impressive win from the Celtics as they continue to prove themselves as one of the league’s top contenders, and their ability to put on a dominant two-way performance against strong competition was on full display. Boston’s defense dialed it up another notch in the second half, and if it were any wonder as to where Boston finds its intensity on that end, that was laid bare in the fourth quarter after Joe Mazzulla called a timeout with three minutes to play to pull his starters.
Royce O’Neale decided to pull-up for a long, after the whistle practice shot, but there are no easy buckets to be found against the Celtics, even when play has been stopped, as Mazzulla made a full, leaping close out to contest the O’Neale shot as he walked out onto the floor.
Joe Mazzulla playing defense
pic.twitter.com/RAZ8qyI2Gd
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 15, 2024
You’ll fairly regularly see coaches get into a defensive stance on the sideline and might even see assistants leap up to try and distract corner shooters, but a head coach contesting an after the whistle shot is a first for me. Mazzulla apparently couldn’t help himself, and I guess if you’re going to demand it from your players you have to be willing to show it in action sometimes.