Why Joe Mazzulla kept his cool after Cade Cunningham’s call

ByNBAUSA



BOSTON — Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla he enjoys the chaos on the field. in fact a busy environment is probably where he feels most at home. With this in mind, it’s no surprise that the fourth-year captain remained calm during a the confusing and controversial ending to the Celtics’ 117-114 victory over the red-hot Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.

After the Celtics guard Derrick White and 21-year-old wing Jordan Walsh combined to force a turnover from the Pistons star Cade Cunningham with 12 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Green Team looked like they were well on their way to NBA Cup victory. The Celtics had the ball and could only make free throws every time they were fouled to keep the lead at three points.

Whenever the Pistons had the ball in that final stretch, the C’s — who were already in the bonus — elected to foul them multiple times before getting a shot, preventing a three-point possession. However, Macula’s plan backfired for reasons beyond his control.

With three and four seconds left in the contest, the Celtics were just one stop away from upsetting the Pistons, so they continued to execute their foul strategy when Cunningham received the ball. This time, however, the 2025 All-Star made a smart play and sent a half-court shot in hopes the officials would call it a shooting foul.

Cunningham was anticipating a quick foul by Boston, but his plan appeared to fall apart when the officials said the call was on the floor. The refs then got together, reversed their decision and gave the Pistons exactly what they needed: a shooting foul and three free throws.

How did Joe Macula react to the disastrous turn of events?

TD Garden was abuzz. The Celtics on the court and on the sidelines couldn’t believe it. Yet through all the turmoil, Mazzulla remained focused.

“I think the players deserved to win it and it’s my responsibility to stay as long as I can in whatever happens next,” Macula said when asked about his reaction to the surprise call-up. “I think the players deserved to win, so my job is to give them the best chance at it, and the best chance was not to answer.”

Boston claimed first-year Celtic Josh Minot fouled Cunningham long before his shot attempt. Instead, Walsh earned a foul and Cunningham went to the line with a chance to equalize.

Despite his team’s shock and the anger radiating from the 19,000 fans at TD Garden, Mazzulla honestly admitted the questionable call was not an easy one to make.

“It’s also a 50-50 call,” he admitted. “At the end of the day, it is what it is. It’s a bang-bang game. We did our best to pull it off. It wasn’t there, but our guys deserved to win, so I had to hang in there.”

The basketball gods may have rewarded Mazzula for his patience, as Cunningham (who shot 85% from the charity stripe for his career and finished with 42 points on the night) hit his first two free throws before missing the last. After a surprising foul, Celtics point guard Peyton Pritchard was able to make a diving catch and sink his two free throws at the other end, sealing the win for Boston.

While some might question the Celtics’ commitment to fouling late rather than playing straight-up defense, Macula recalled his team’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers two weeks ago. The C’s chose not to foul three with less than two seconds left and Clippers star James Harden almost made them pay with a potential game-tying shot from behind the arc just wide of the mark.

“It’s just the epitome of a late game that’s kind of crap,” Mazzulla said matter-of-factly.

Whether it was good karma or good planning in the end, all that mattered to the Celtics was that they were able to walk away from home with a win and end the Pistons’ 13-game winning streak. And while the narrow win didn’t keep the Celtics out of NBA Cup contention, it did give them proof that they can hang with any team.





2025-11-27 16:24:00

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