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Joe Mazzulla emphasized discipline, rebounding control, and defensive execution after the Boston Celtics’ 128-96 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series on Sunday night.
The Celtics head coach pointed first to Payton Pritchard’s growth and role acceptance, especially when discussing Boston’s evolving rotation. “He’s been on a journey since he’s gotten in the NBA,” Mazzulla said. “He’s kept a level of professionalism, consistency, but like mental toughness.”
He added that the group performs best when players commit to impact roles rather than individual expectations. “We’re at our best when he’s aggressive and he’s bought into any role that’s necessary to winning and just cares about competing,” he said.
Boston controlled the glass in decisive fashion, finishing with a 51-30 rebounding advantage. Mazzulla credited that edge as a structural part of the team’s identity.
“It’s been a strength of ours getting extra possessions,” he said. “Rebounding is a huge key because of our ability to get out and run, our ability to get extra possession.”
He also stressed that consistency will be required moving forward. “We met it tonight. We got to meet it again.”
The Celtics repeatedly turned defensive possessions into transition opportunities, building separation through extended scoring runs. Mazzulla focused less on momentum swings and more on game control.
“It just comes down to controlling the game, having an understanding and awareness of what’s going on,” he said. “You just got to manage the game, being disciplined and I thought our guys did that tonight.”
Boston limited Philadelphia to 96 points and held the 76ers under 23 points in three of four quarters. Mazzulla noted that defensive execution came from physicality rather than schematic complexity.
“I thought we were just physical at the point of attack,” he said. “You have to be that against a team like this.”
Joel Embiid returned for Philadelphia and scored 26 points, but Mazzulla emphasized team containment over individual matchups. “You’re never going to be able to stop him. You just have to try to contain him,” he said.
He also acknowledged offensive rhythm management during scoring runs, especially from Pritchard and Jayson Tatum. “It just comes down to controlling the game,” Mazzulla said. “Even when we weren’t making shots, our offensive rebounds and we didn’t turn it over.”
With Boston now holding a 3-1 series lead, Mazzulla’s message remained unchanged heading into Game 5.
“The most important thing is you can’t have an expectation of it going a certain way,” he said. “We just have to play Celtics basketball and stick to the process of winning.”
Game 5 shifts back to Boston, where the Celtics can close out the series with the same formula: rebounding control, defensive discipline, and sustained execution across all four quarters.
