Joe Mazzulla explains magic behind Celtics' persevering locker room

BOSTON — To the untrained eye, the Boston Celtics' 113-108 win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday night was extraordinary. The C's had just eight players available and couldn't advance or fall in the standings, so one would expect them to take the virtual rest day easy. Meanwhile, the Magic had nearly their whole lineup healthy and could improve their seeding, making the matchup theoretically mean a lot more to them.

That's not how things went down at TD Garden, though. The Celtics played harder and were fueled by several guys motivated to prove themselves, even in the last game of the season. And while Boston's benchwarmers defeating the Magic's starters was stunning in some ways, it also epitomized what the Celtics had done all season long: exceed expectations.

I asked Joe Mazzulla how proud he is of his guys for persevering and exceeding expectations tonight and all season long: “We said it all year, one through 15, whoever steps on the floor there is an expectation to put us in position with the opportunity to win. Stick to the… pic. twitter.

com/ahxhkexanQ — Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) April 13, 2026 “We said it all year, 1 through 15, whoever steps on the floor there is an expectation to put us in position with the opportunity to win," Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla told Celtics Wire following the regular season finale. "Stick to the process of winning. Today is no different than the other 81 games from the standpoint of we had...