Joe Mazzulla Breaks Down Celtics Defensive Changes in Game 3 Win Over Heat

Following their Game 2 loss to the Miami Heat, the Boston Celtics traveled to South Beach on Saturday night looking for a bounce-back.

Miami rained down 23 threes in Game 2—two shy of the all-time NBA playoff record—and it was clear Boston needed to make some serious changes to their game plan.

Or did they?

The Celtics stomped the Heat on Saturday. They overcame their defensive disaster and held the Heat to just 84 points in Game 3.

But head coach Joe Mazzulla doesn’t think they made any significant “adjustments.” They just played with more intensity.

“Yeah, I mean, that word [adjustments], it’s just such a trigger word around this time of year,” Mazzulla said. “We didn’t make too many adjustments. We played a little bit harder. We played tougher. We dictated the physicality and the tempo of the game. 

“And it’s the simple things that you have to do under a higher level of stress, a higher level of adversity. So, I thought our guys did a great job of dictating that today.”

The Heat shot just 9/28 (32.1%) from behind the three-point arc in Game 3. A healthy dose of improved screen navigation and increased physicality helped them return to the level of play fans became accustomed to seeing during the regular season.

From Payton Pritchard’s dogged trailing defense to Kristaps Porzingis’ fierce help in the paint, the Celtics parlayed a team effort into an elite defensive performance.

“Individual defense. Team defense,” Mazzulla said. “I thought Jrue was great. I don’t know when he got his first shot, but I thought he dictated the defensive tempo of the game. I thought Tatum answered the call defensively. I thought KP [Porzingis] and Al [Horford] did a great job. 

“I thought everybody- I thought our bench came in and really pushed the pace on both ends of the floor. So, just connected, tough, physical, individual defense. Team defense.”

Jrue Holiday didn’t attempt a shot in the first half of the game, but by the end of the second quarter, he had the best plus/minus on the Celtics (+23).

Boston went from getting torched to completely extinguishing the Heat’s flame.

Their dominant defensive showing was highlighted by a 12-point Miami first quarter. The Celtics only managed to put up 21 points of their own, but their ability to control the Heat throughout the first 12 minutes of the game helped set the tone for the night.

“Yeah, I didn’t think it was ugly. I thought it was just physical,” Mazzulla said. “Tough. I thought we got some good looks, didn’t make them. They got some good looks, didn’t make them. I just thought it was just a rock fight at the beginning of the game. So, once the game settled in, we were kind of able to take what the defense gave us and kind of go from there.”