Jayson Tatum just downed the Knicks but Mazzulla isn't even thinking about them

NEW YORK — With just under five minutes to go on Tuesday night, Jayson Tatum hit a fadeaway jumper to put the Boston Celtics up 100-93. The two sides went back and forth down the stretch, trading blows, until a Josh Hart cut to the rim gave the Knicks a 107-104 lead with 12 seconds left. Joe Mazzulla didn’t call a timeout.

“I mean, their defense was scattered,” Mazzulla explained after the game. “It kept a certain lineup on the court. If you call it, they could talk about it. If they're going to foul, if they're not going to foul, it changes the dynamics... Just think if we can keep it in a five-on-five setting with the lineups that you have, just a little bit of unpredictability, rely on your players to make, and he did a great job making a play."

For the first year of his coaching career, one of the biggest complaints about Mazzulla was his lack of timeous usage. But against at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night, it proved useful.

Boston dribbled the ball up the floor, and Tatum went to work.

Mazzulla cares more about the Celtics' details than the Knicks themselves

He dribbled downhill, got OG Anunoby off-balance, stepped back, and nailed a three to knot things up with just 2.9 seconds remaining on the game clock.

Hart missed a potential game-winning three at the buzzer, the game went to overtime, and Boston simply out-executed New York down the stretch. They worked hard to close out to shooters, found gaps to attack in the Knicks’ defense in order to get to the charity stripe, and fed Kristaps Porzingis, who enjoyed a spectacular night in his former home.

With just three regular-season games remaining, these are the types of games the Celtics love having in their back pocket. Not because they may end up facing the Knicks in the postseason, but because of the way the ending played out.

“I don't think it has anything to do with who we might see or like not see,” said Mazzulla. “I mean, there's so much that we have to achieve before that, which is win tomorrow and the next day, and the day after. So that part isn't. But being a part of a game where you have to execute and test your attention to detail. 

“I thought our defensive attention to detail was good. I thought our offense could use a little bit more work. So, I think it left us with possessions that we know we have to get better at.”

Mazzulla is looking at the Knicks in the context opposite to the one provided. He’s not looking ahead to a playoff matchup, and the fact that Boston swept New York in the regular season is not an advantage.

In fact, it could be a negative for the Celtics.

“It means nothing,” Mazzulla said of Boston sweeping the season series 4-0 “If anything, it's more dangerous for us thinking, one, that we're going to get the second round. We may not get there. We're going to have to surrender to that. That it may not go the way that you want it. 

“So, there's so there's so much that needs to happen before that, and if you don't handle the what you've done against somebody else, then that can actually be more detrimental to you psychologically. So, it all depends on how we continue to get better as a team.”

Typical Mazzulla mind games are undoubtedly going to carry the Celtics forward into the playoffs, and though their final three games are meaningless, as the Cleveland Cavaliers’ win on Tuesday locked them into the one seed, Boston doesn’t think that way.

No matter if it’s Round 1, Game 1 of the NBA Finals, or two straight games against the Charlotte Hornet to wrap up the regular season, they are looking to learn. And perhaps more importantly, they will refuse to give up their mental edge.

So, while Tatum’s monster fourth quarter, a 12-point master class, and the Celtics’ impressive late-game execution may be a positive sign heading into the playoffs, there’s still a lot of basketball left to play.

And it all starts on Wednesday night against the Orlando Magic.