Joe Mazzulla Reacts To Celtics' G3 Win vs. Knicks, 'Just Gotta Tap Into Your Darkness'
Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla is ready to lead the reigning NBA champions back from their 2-1 second-round series deficit to the New York Knicks.
"This is the fun part. You don't get into the journey for it to be easy," Mazzulla told reporters after the Celtics won Game 3 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden. "It's been dark, but in a good way.
"You've just got to tap into your darkness, and that's it."
The Celtics defeated the New York Knicks 115-93 to claim the team's first win of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
"I've said it a thousand times: there's no one way of how it's supposed to go," Mazzulla said. "You get caught up when your expectations aren't met, and so there are no expectations here. We're on the path of trying to go after greatness, and you don't get to dictate the test that's in front of you. All you get to dictate is how you approach it, and how to respond to it.
"If you plan on doing this for a long time, trust me, it'll be a lot worse than those last 72 hours, and that's the perspective you've got to have."
The Celtics led by 71-46 at halftime of Saturday's Game 3.
Despite the Knicks' struggles through two quarters, that lead didn't feel as secure as it might have given New York's improbable comebacks in Boston.
The visitors recovered from 20-point deficits in both Game 1 and Game 2 in order to claim a two-game series lead heading back to New York.
Game 2 was a particularly tough loss for Mazzulla, who held on to the Celtics' final timeout as Mikal Bridges' blocked Jayson Tatum's attempt at a buzzer-beating game-winner.
"Just take solace in the fact that we got a challenge ahead of us, and we got a chance to go after it together, and we got to do it, so we don't really have a choice," Mazzulla said after Game 2. "Just got to figure it out."
The Celtics appeared to have figured out several things in Game 3, especially shooting from deep. After struggling from behind the arc during the Knicks' prior comebacks, Mazzulla's team went 20-for-40 from the three-point range on Saturday.
