Why Celtics' Joe Mazzulla has 'no fear' after OT loss to Hawks

01/19/2025 11:48 AM

BOSTON — The Boston Celtics had one of the most consistent regular seasons in franchise history en route to their 18th title. The road to repeat as champions hasn’t been as smooth, and that was apparent on Saturday night when the C’s lost in overtime to the Atlanta Hawks, 119-115.

Although the Celtics had a chance to prevail in back-to-back contests for the first time in over two weeks, they squandered a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter and failed to seal the game in the final minute. The C’s are now 5-4 in 2025 and 3-4 in their last seven games. Despite these struggles, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla embraced his team’s recent slump and stressed that this is all part of the journey.

“There’s no fear, no fear,” he stated after the disappointing defeat. “I’m actually more excited at this juncture of the season than I was at the beginning.”

Joe Mazzulla emphasized embracing struggle and how he's excited during tough times like these:

"There is no fear … This is what you sign up for." pic.twitter.com/lDJMsfwf2H

— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) January 19, 2025

With just 20.1 seconds left in regulation, Boston held the ball and a three-point lead. However, while playing keep away to run the clock, Celtics guard Jrue Holiday threw an errant pass to star teammate Jaylen Brown that barely went out of bounds.

On the next possession, Holiday intentionally fouled Hawks star Trae Young and pushed the C’s over the limit, giving Atlanta a pair of free throws—but not the opportunity to tie the game with a 3-pointer. The Hawks perpetuated the free throw battle by intentionally fouling Jayson Tatum, yet he missed his second shot at the charity stripe.

“It just goes to show it’s hard to win in the NBA each night. It’s tough,” Tatum replied when questioned about Boston’s current rough patch. “You got to bring it every single night.”

Things got even worse for Boston on the following play, as Holiday fouled Young away from the basket with just four seconds to go in the fourth quarter. Young made the Celtics pay for their questionable late-game execution with two more free throws, which was enough to send the game into overtime after a missed jumper from Tatum on the other end.

What went wrong for the Celtics in overtime?

In overtime, the Hawks outscored the Celtics 15-11 and nabbed much-needed offensive rebounds throughout. In fact, the final offensive board virtually ended the game. Up 116-115 with 12.5 seconds remaining in OT, Hawks forward Jalen Johnson bricked two free throws to keep Boston alive. The Celtics’ hope didn’t last long, though, because Hawks big man Onyeka Okongwu collected the second miss and drained his two free throws after getting fouled immediately.

Onyeka Okongwu seals the Hawks win with the hustle play pic.twitter.com/kUnx4xXeGZ

— Hawks Nation (@HawksNationCP) January 19, 2025

While this collapse down the stretch dismayed the TD Garden crowd, Mazzulla argued that these troubles make competing in the NBA fun.

“This is part of it. It’s the fun part,” he said. “We talk about what we’ve been able to accomplish as a team in the past, and if we’re going to be on a journey together for however long that is, two years, whatever the case may be like, this is what you sign up for. This is the most fun part that you have to have. And as long as we’re in it, that’s how we’re going to attack it.”

The C’s put up 11 more shots than the Hawks, but shot a forgettable 38.8% from the field and 28.8% from deep. In contrast, Atlanta shot 47.3% from the floor and an impressive 62.5% inside the arc. Those numbers aren’t necessarily enough to concern the Celtics, especially given their 11-1 record in games following a loss.

“There’s zero fear whatsoever,” Mazzulla reiterated. “If anything, there’s excitement. And this is the journey. So sign me up for this.”

The next part of the Celtics’ journey will take them west. They’ll play four games away from home in five days against Western Conference teams, all with a winning record. Bouncing back on the road will be tough, however, Mazzulla clearly isn’t shaken, and he wants his squad to have the same fearless attitude at all times.

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