Joe Mazzulla Breaks Down Celtics Last Minute Loss Vs. Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers snapped the Celtics’ 11-game win streak by defeating Boston 105-104 on Tuesday night.

With nine minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Celtics were ahead by 22 points when Dean Wade took over for the Cavs, scoring 20 points and draining seven threes to lead Cleveland past Boston.

“I think it started when we gave up the layup with seven seconds left at the end of the third quarter,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters, per the team-provided video. “Closing those quarters (and) starting those quarters are important. You give that up, you give them a little life. We talked about game management, end of quarters being important.”

The Celtics racked up 87 points in the first three quarters but managed only 17 points in the final 12 minutes of the game.

“I thought we just went cold,” Mazzulla said. “I thought we had some really good possessions where we didn’t make the shot. I thought we had some tough shots. Credit to them. I thought Wade played really well. I thought they made plays down the stretch.”

Before the Celtics’ final possession, Jayson Tatum appeared to draw a foul on Darius Garland while shooting a fadeaway jumper, but Cavaliers head coach J. B. Bickerstaff challenged the call. Following the review, the officials overturned the call, stating Tatum initiated the contact.

Mazzulla said Boston got the matchup they wanted on their final possession with 0.7 seconds remaining, but the Celtics didn’t move fast enough to get a shot off.

“We gotta go faster there,” Mazzulla said. “I thought (Derrick) White got the matchup we wanted into it, we just got to play a little bit faster. Down one in that situation, you try to get a couple more possessions, and we just got to get into it faster. Go faster and try to extend the game.”

Despite the loss, the Celtics still own the NBA’s best overall record at 48-13. Boston holds a 7 1/2 game lead over the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference and leads the league by 5 1/2 games over the Minnesota Timberwolves.