NBA

Mazzulla talks Celtics mentality after Game 5 win

The Boston Celtics are hoping to become the first NBA team to come back and win their series over the Miami Heat after being down 3-0.

After Thursday’s 110-97 victory, the Boston Celtics have now won two in a row to come back from a 3-0 deficit against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. They are aiming to make history as the only NBA team to come back from that and actually win the series and make it to the NBA Finals.

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla revealed that one of their assistants put things into perspective for him.

The season is like nine months long and we just had a bad week. Sometimes you have a bad week at work,” said Mazzulla. “We obviously didn’t pick the best time to have a bad week, but we did, and we’re sticking together and fighting like hell to keep it alive. The guys are really coming together.”

After being down like that, the Celtics were even more determined to win with everything at stake and were able to pull off two wins to avoid elimination and force a Game 6 back in Miami.

“I think it’s just when your back’s against the wall, you don’t have a choice,” Mazzulla said. “So it builds a connection and it builds just an opportunity. I’ve said it all year, the guys in that locker room, they always stick together, and when our backs are against the wall, we just have to continue it.”