Mazzulla: I Should've Called Timeout on Celtics' Final Possession of G4 Loss to 76ers

One of the main talking points following the Celtics' 116-115 overtime loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday was whether Boston coach Joe Mazzulla should've called a timeout ahead of his team's final possession.

Following James Harden's three-pointer with 19 seconds remaining, Mazzulla opted to let his team play on. He was almost vindicated as Marcus Smart's would-be buzzer-beater was called off as time expired.

At first, Mazzulla defended his decision postgame, but he backtracked Monday afternoon while on a call with reporters.

"At the end of overtime, hindsight is 20/20. I should have called [a timeout] to help us get a 2-for-1 or a couple more possessions," Mazzulla said. "So, obviously with 14 seconds left, down one, you want to get as many chances as you can. So we'll definitely learn from that."

Timeouts have been a bit of a theme for the first-year coach. Mazzulla had a tendency of holding on to them throughout the regular season and now the playoffs, especially when the opposing team goes on a run.

He justified it as trusting his players and wanting to see them execute.

"I think you have to go through that as a team," Mazzulla said following a win over the Pelicans in November. "You have to build an awareness for your team to what's going on. And sometimes, I like the fact that we have to execute through a run instead of calling a timeout through a run.

It's a feel thing. There are times when you're going to have to do it. But in order for us to be a great team, we have to handle those situations and we got to build an awareness, and we got to know how to execute."

Although he's still a bit green, Mazzulla has quickly proven himself to be one of the best young coaches in the game, getting elevated from interim coach to full-time gig midway through the season.

Sunday's game was a key learning experience that should help the Celtics and their young coach as they try to return to the NBA Finals for the second-straight year.