Joe Mazzulla explains how Boston Celtics were able to weather rough start to beat Thunder
"I thought we were getting great looks," said Mazzulla. "We got some wide open ones, I thought they hit some shots there."
It did not look good early in the Boston Celtics 119-109 win vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday (March 25) night. The Celtics were looking overwhelmed and under-focused against the reigning champs in what was one of their first games playing mostly healthy all season.
But the Celtics recovered from an atrocious second frame to take the lead in the third quarter, an advantage they held onto for the rest of the game. Asked how Boston managed to course-correct after such an atrocious start, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said that "those are the times where you just have to focus on the process of what you’re doing. " The perspective paid off for Boston in what has been seen as one of their best victories of the 2025-26 season to date.
"I thought we were getting great looks," added Mazzulla. "We got some wide open ones, I thought they hit some shots there. " "We gave up two layups in the first quarter," counterbalanced the Celtics coach.
"So I think that’s just the ebbs and flow of the game. " "I think we were able to rebound," said the West Virginia alum of what was an 8-rebound advantage for his Celtics. "We were able to keep them off the free throw line.