BOSTON — Celtics interim head coach Joe Mazzulla didn’t give a spirited speech at halftime even though Boston was getting throttled by the Indiana Pacers to trail by 28 points at the break.
Instead, Mazzulla asked his team a simple question.
“Basically decide what team you want to be, the team that played that way or the team that’s going to play much better version of basketball on both ends,” Mazzulla said was his message. “They did a good job responding.”
The Celtics did come to life over the the final 24 minutes, but couldn’t completely dig out of the hole they put themselves in to fall to the Pacers, 117-112, at TD Garden. Boston has now lost three straight games — all at home — and five out of their last six.
Jayson Tatum erupted for 28 of his game-high 41 points in the second half to spark the Celtics and got them as close as five points late in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough.
Despite doing a complete 180 like Mazzulla wanted them to, it didn’t wash away the pathetic showing Boston put together in the first half. The Pacers just outhustled the Celtics for the most part to take a commanding lead — Indiana led by as much as 30 — as Boston’s recent offensive issues persisted as well.
“Just didn’t play with a great sense of urgency, didn’t play with an awareness and didn’t play with a sense of details,” Mazzulla said.
Even after such an ugly first half and the Celtics reeling as they don’t resemble the team that looked like a juggernaut just a few weeks ago, Mazzulla isn’t coming to close to even eyeing a panic button.
“Concerned? I don’t get concerned,” Mazzulla said. “We are where we are, and you have to rely on who our guys are as people. And you have to rely on the process of what we’re trying to build. A half like this, I would be more concerned if it was two halves, but it was one.
“We’re not playing well, but up until this point we have competed defensively and it was an offensive issue. So, in moments like this, I think it’s important to trust your guys because they’ve been through a lot and they’ve had games like this and they’ve bounced back and we’ve proven to be a really good team.”
