Joe Mazzulla and Celtics Make Strong Adjustments in Loss to Cavs

The Celtics activated Al Horford and Kristaps Porziņģis with Jaylen Brown and Derrick White missing for the front half of a back-to-back on Sunday in Cleveland. Luke Kornet logged secondary center minutes after Joe Mazzulla started and extended their double-big starting duo deep into the first quarter, Boston’s offense flat-lining even into its recently booming Payton Pritchard minutes.

So Mazzulla, after telling Sean Grande on 98.5 the Sports Hub that he was excited making Boston’s substitution pattern with multiple starters out, dove as deep into the organizational depth chart for a new look as possible.

Two-way forward Drew Peterson started the second quarter with the Celtics trailing, 28-24, and helped Boston make up two points playing almost the entire second quarter. The 25-year-old who the Celtics pulled from the Heats’ G-League system midway through last season and retained this summer had averaged 19.6 points per game with Maine through five games this fall. Despite Boston’s hope that he could morph into a shooting-playmaking hybrid wing with enough size to stand up defensively, his Summer League and G-League productivity proved sporadic.

Yet Peterson leaped over recent Celtics draft picks Jordan Walsh and Baylor Scheierman, both available on Sunday, to play against the top seed in the east. The Cavs won behind a 20-point Donovan Mitchell fourth quarter, 115-111, after Boston built a 14-point lead in the third. The Celtics lost the final frame, 43-27.

“He has a knack for the ball, whether it’s offensive rebounding or moving without the basketball to get open, and I think he works really hard,” Mazzulla said. “So, you try to find moments throughout the season to where you can validate the work that the guys put in, regardless of who it is, Jordan (Walsh), Drew, Jaden (Springer), JD (Davison), and those guys. So, I just felt like he’s had really good reps lately, and I thought he put us in a position to help us win.”

The Celtics could use several of the aforementioned players this week, starting Monday against Miami when Horford and Porziņģis inevitably sit the second half of a back-to-back. Brown didn’t play on Sunday due to an illness. Jrue Holiday did despite being listed questionable the day before with right adductor tightness. White sprained his right foot on Friday, though the injury isn’t considered serious. Peterson shot 2-of-5 from three, scored eight points, grabbed four rebounds and finished a +0 (+/-).

His first lineup, which also included Pritchard, Porziņģis, Holiday and Sam Hauser, initially lost a 10-3 run to begin the second quarter as Boston shot 1-of-6 and turned the ball over. Peterson hit his first shot, a three, out of timeout for his first NBA points this season after logging only 30 career NBA minutes prior to the game. More importantly, he stayed aggressive, taking another side-step three above the break, attacking Isaac Okoro unsuccessfully driving baseline and blocking Darius Garland. Peterson forced the Cavs to guard him.

Jayson Tatum, meanwhile, struggled to exploit mismatches through a 4-for-12 first half and shot 6-of-13 lined up against Garland in the game, but Horford and Hauser hit threes on an 8-3 run to keep Boston within two points at halftime. Pritchard, whose role will expand even further if White misses more games, broke into more two-man actions with Tatum that developed quality looks later for Tatum.

Mazzulla stressed maintaining winning expectations at the beginning of a five-game slate over seven days. While that held up through Brown’s last 16 absences, Boston winning 15, the Celtics split their first six games (3-3) with White out last year. The Celtics’ net rating improved by 3.1 points per 100 possessions with White on the floor compared to off last year, ranking in the 69th percentile of the NBA in 2023-24. The Celtics managed a 66-44 closing run to beat the Bulls without him on Friday. A healthier Cavs team than the one Boston defeated earlier this month exploited the Celtics’ perimeter and back line defense late, shooting 6-of-9 from three and 5-of-7 in the paint.

Tatum’s been a big part of Boston’s success regardless of who’s out, and after his slow start, he scored 19 points in a scorching third quarter. His first two threes fell before he found Hauser for another, then he poured in back-to-back mid rangers. Boston led by 11 points, adding two more from a successful challenge on what would’ve been a Pritchard offensive foul, while Tatum redeemed a possession where he stepped out of bounds catching the ball high-low from Pritchard with a pull-up three on the following one. He missed a forced fadeaway over Sam Merrill, then found Peterson for three wide open in the corner before his two late misses against Garland proved decisive in a mixed bag game where he shot 12-of-27, hit 4-of-9 from three and dished four assists to two turnovers.

Boston led by 14 points after a string of strong defensive stops by Kornet late in the third before Cleveland rode a pair of Mobley finishes, a Merrill three and Ty Jerome free throws to dig back within two possessions. While a quick challenge to get the ball back after Holiday turned it over out-of-bounds proved unsuccessful, Mazzulla needed to beat an attempt the by Cavs to get the ball in before he had the chance to call timeout.

Mitchell hit three straight threes and scored 11 straight to tie the game at 101. A cutting play for Mobley behind Isaac Okoro secured a Cleveland lead for the rest of the game. Porziņģis pulled the Celtics within two points at the free throw line with 26 seconds remaining, then Mazzulla strung out the final possessions with one timeout left for nine possessions, forcing the Cavs to hit 10 straight free throws to close their win after Pritchard’s three made it a one-point game.

Pritchard then caught the ball in position to pull-up for three through an intentional foul when Mazzulla finally used his timeout 20 seconds later, but the Cavs fouled quickly on the floor and Pritchard left the free throw line too early on his intentional miss. Mazzulla put the Celtics in position to win their most short-handed game this year, Boston’s first as an underdog. Kenny Atkinson got ahead of him.

“I was like, ‘Screw that, we’re fouling,'” Atkinson said. “I don’t want to see Peyton Prichard come down and shoot a step back.”