Joe Mazzulla Credits Celtics Making Extra Plays Amid Shooting Waves

BOSTON– The Celtics often center their offense around a high volume of three-point shots to jump out in front of opponents.

When those shots don’t fall, as was the case at the start of Tuesday’s matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers, other areas of production become that much more important. Getting to the free throw line. Securing offensive rebounds. Mixing up defensive looks.

Boston did just that in the 120-113 victory at TD Garden on Tuesday night.

The Celtics started cold from the field, consistently getting open looks while failing to knock down shots, especially from three-point range. Boston eventually got in a rhythm, finishing the night 45.2% from the field and over 40% from beyond the arc as a team. While working up to that success, Boston found other ways to dominate against the Cavaliers.

Boston went a perfect 26-of-26 from the free-throw line and pulled in 12 offensive rebounds. For reference, Cleveland converted six of its nine free throws with six offensive rebounds.

For as much as the Boston head coach pushes his players to take the extra three, Joe Mazzulla recognizes that great teams like the Celtics have to find ways to win like they did against Cleveland.

“It’s something that we always talk about,” Mazzulla told reporters after the win. “It goes back to this formula of offensive rebounds, free throws, transition points, turnovers and getting more shots. I felt like we were very process-oriented in that approach.”

Effort became another highlight of the night as the Celtics head coach noted that early shooting droughts did not have a further impact on Boston’s approach.

“I liked our approach of executing on both ends of the floor throughout the game, amidst the emotion,” Mazzulla said. “I feel like this was one of the games where the emotion of what was happening didn’t affect our effort or our execution at times.”

Knowing that not every game is going to be a perfect shooting night or under ideal offensive circumstances, Mazzulla reiterated the value of doing the little things right on offense to keep pressure off of the team.

“I think it’s always important,” Mazzulla added. “You can’t bank on the fact that you’re going to shoot well. … If you’re taking care of the other things, those things are OK. You have to be willing to live with some of those. …You have to be able to win games like that,” Mazzulla said.

The Celtics look to sweep the home mini-series over Cleveland when the teams meet again on Thursday night.