Crucial timeout won Celtics Game 1 and embodied a season of growth

The Boston Celtics’ dominant run through the regular season and playoffs was met with more of the same in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, as they earned a 107-89 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

But while winning can be the standard, it can’t be the expectation. Head coach Joe Mazzulla has made that clear all season.

“I just hope [a game like that] happens 10, 12 more times so we can get rid of the entitlement that we’re always supposed to be winning,” he said after the Celtics’ January 29 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. “So, I hope we blow leads.”

At the time, that quote was met with scrutiny. “I hope we blow leads.” Some laughed, others got angry, and many didn’t know what to make of it.

The intense standards of the Boston market came raining down on Mazzulla. Yet when the Celtics faced a blown lead on the biggest stage—the NBA Finals—their lack of entitlement did more than just shine through.

It won them the game.

With the roar of a boisterous TD Garden crowd behind them, the Celtics shot out of a cannon to open Game 1 of the NBA Finals. They jumped the Dallas Mavericks, earning a 37-20 lead after the first quarter and a 63-35 lead with 1:48 to go in the first half.

That’s when the game turned.

Dallas closed the second quarter on a 7-0 run that spiraled into a 31-12 onslaught. Bucket after bucket, Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and PJ Washington picked apart a Celtics team that had completely lost its mojo.

As Boston’s offense wilted, the Mavericks finally found a way to get consistent buckets. What was once a 29-point lead at its peak was down to eight.

A Doncic three brought the score to 64-72. As he backpedaled down the court, he nodded his head to a now-hushed TD Garden crowd as if to say, “I’m finally here.”

Joe Mazzulla called a timeout, and the Celtics coaches huddled on the court, just as they always do, leaving the players to gather their thoughts.

“Out of the three minutes, two and a half of it, they’re by themselves,” said Mazzulla. “They communicate well with each other. They have great relationships. So, I’m sure during the time the coaches are meeting that they’re having that communication with each other. They do a good job of communicating with each other throughout the game.”

In the midst of blowing a near-30-point lead, the message was simple: Breathe.

“We just said, ‘just breathe,’” Jaylen Brown revealed. “The game is starting now. Just breathe. We’re in — this is a moment where our experience shines through. Just breathe, just keep playing basketball.

“If you got a shot that’s open, take it with confidence, no turnovers, take care of the basketball and just play our game. We got to get some stops. They made some big shots. Just navigate the run. That was it.”

When the horn sounded to end the timeout, the Celtics and Mavericks walked back out onto the court. But they weren’t the same two teams that went into the break.

Boston’s breath worked.

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Brown’s aggressiveness got him to the free-throw line, Kristaps Porzingis threw down a thunderous dunk, and the Celtics ended the third quarter with a flurry of threes to push their lead back up to 20 points. From that point on, the game never got close again. “That’s the game right there,” said Brown.

The timeout was the tipping point. A flat start to begin the third had the Celtics on shaky legs, and another one could have sunk the ship. Instead, Boston found its footing and surged to an easy Game 1 victory.

“We just did a great job of responding in real-time after Joe called that timeout,” said Jayson Tatum. “They cut it to eight. We came to the bench and talked about it, executed and made plays, and took the lead back up.”

Mazzulla’s guidance at that moment was essential, “He was just even-keeled and giving us some of the answers to what we need to do out there, and that was it,” said Porzingis. “We trust him with his leadership.” But it was the communication amongst the players themselves that truly got the Celtics back on track.

“It can be anybody,” Derrick White said when asked who leads the Celtics player huddles. “I think it was JB that timeout, but Al [Horford], JT, Jrue [Holiday], [or] I can say [something]. Like, that’s the great thing about this team, is if there’s something that needs to be said, people are going to say it and we’re willing to accept that and grow from it.

“So, I mean, it can be anybody that’s playing. Like X [Xavier Tillman] has said stuff in the past that has helped us, so there’s a lot of guys that have the voice, and we’re just learning and growing with each other.”

Dallas’ slow start was largely a product of Boston’s high-powered offense and focused defensive strategies, but they also didn’t play up to par. So, when Doncic started to get hot, it wasn’t a shock. It was the expectation.

“Yeah, I mean, they’re a really good team,” said White. “They’re going to make runs. They’re going to make tough shots. They’re going to— I mean, they’re going to make it difficult for us. We didn’t expect it to be easy.”

“Listen, it’s the NBA Finals, you’re playing against a great team, and they’re going to make runs,” said Mazzulla.

Doncic ended the game with 30 points, 12 of which came during the Mavericks’ 31-12 run. But he only dished out one assist. Irving only mustered up 12 points on the night. Washington had 14.

Boston limited Dallas’ damage across the board in spite of their impressive stretch in the second and third.

Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images

These two teams reached the Finals for a reason. Expecting Dallas to wilt over and go home without a fight would require Boston to play with the arrogance that Mazzulla has forced them to avoid all season.

The Mavericks are going to throw punches. They threw a big one in Game 1. But the Celtics countered.

They’ve conducted themselves that way all season, and on their quest for three more wins, they don’t plan on changing.

“It’s not going to be perfect. It’s a long series,” said Brown. “I expect them, [in] Game 2, to come out with tremendous force and maybe try to hit us in the mouth. So that’s the game.

“When a team goes on a run, you got to manage it, you got to stay composed, and you got to keep playing basketball.”