“Why didn’t the Celtics call a timeout????” wrote CBB ON FOX and NBCSports journalist John Fanta on X, asking the burning question that was on the minds of so many fans after the recent Celtics-Knicks matchup. Becoming one of the first teams to commence the Conference Semi-Finals of the ongoing playoffs, Jayson Tatum and Co. went into Game 1 at TD Garden with high expectations. Unfortunately, the Knicks put up a tough fight, resulting in the game being a close one in the final minute. With mere seconds left, Boston found itself down two after a missed three from Josh Hart. However, rather than taking a timeout, Joe Mazzulla let his team dribble the ball up the floor. Nothing happened. He later sprinted up the sidelines and tried to call a timeout, but it was too late. Amidst all this, Celtics fans wanted an explanation, which the man himself was willing to give.
Joe Mazzulla participated in a presser after the Celtics’ 105-108 loss. During the same, he was asked by a reporter to be taken through that final stretch of the overtime period; whether Mazzulla was thinking about taking it earlier in that situation than the 3-second mark, or did he want to kind of see how it would play out? The Celtics’ head coach revealed initially not wanting to act in haste, since he felt like the team had speed, and would have managed to make a dent with two left. However, Mazzulla also put a bit of the blame on the referees, since he believed they failed to notice the time-out call when it was attempted to be brought to their attention.
“Then I was at half-court, probably around 8 or 9, calling it in and seeing it, and then, they ended up following him,” said Mazzulla. “So, we used it there. So, just a feel thing of knowing that when you call it, they’re gonna go to their defensive lineup, till we get something quick. You know, in transition”.
Joe Mazzulla says he was trying to call timeout with eight or nine seconds left in overtime but the referees did not see it: pic.twitter.com/IRD71ByNBO
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) May 6, 2025
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