The hassle from the Boston Celtics was questioned following Sport 4 of the NBA Finals.
Given the ultimate rating, it was simple to see why.
The Celtics obtained pulverized by the Dallas Mavericks on Friday evening at American Airways Area and had been dealt the third-largest loss in Finals historical past with a 122-84 choice. The Mavericks prevented a sweep within the course of, too.
However Mazzulla side-stepped questions on his group’s effort till he was requested pointedly to evaluate it.
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“It wasn’t nearly as good as Dallas’s was,” Mazzulla informed reporters, per league-provided video. “I believed theirs was lots higher.”
Mazzulla conceded that the Mavericks not solely “outplayed” the Celtics, however performed “tougher” than them, too. It was clear from virtually the opening tip and Boston’s lack of effort actually got here by way of in an eye-popping rebounding disparity.
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The Mavericks attacked the glass at each ends of the ground to manage the sport. Dallas outworked Boston repeatedly on the boards and completed with a 52-31 rebounding benefit. The Mavericks completed with 13 offensive rebounds, seven of which had been hauled in by Dereck Vigorous II.
Mazzulla felt the Celtics had been ready for the second however their effort definitely didn’t appear like a group that had the chance to closeout the collection and declare an NBA title.
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“The extra I stated it as a result of you must give them credit score,” Mazzulla stated. “It’s not about us. It’s about our opponent and having respect for them. And you must give them credit score for the way properly they performed, and that’s a very powerful factor.
“So it’s much less about us and extra about how they performed. They performed properly. They performed exhausting. We now have to be extra disciplined in how we defend and assault them.”
Al Horford agreed that the Mavericks performed tougher with a lot at stake for each groups. And that ought to sting the Celtics as they head again to Boston for Monday’s Sport 5 with one other likelihood at hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
“In the end, I felt like they had been the higher group tonight,” Horford informed reporters, per league-provided video. “We will say all this stuff about us. They performed a lot better than us. They clearly outplayed us, and that’s powerful to take however that’s the truth.”
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