After the Boston Celtics masterfully handled the final moments of regulation in their matchup against the Houston Rockets on Saturday, Brad Stevens seemed likely to pull off more magic in overtime.
The play that sent the Celtics and Rockets into overtime was truly spectacular, with Jayson Tatum intentionally missing a free throw and Marcus Smart tipping the rebound to Jaylen Brown, who nailed a 3-pointer to tie the game as time expired. How could the Celtics lose after that?
The final possession of overtime started with a Celtics’ in-bound and Boston trailing, 111-110. The Rockets had the Celtics well-covered, but Brown shook free enough for a quick catch-and-shoot, which he missed. Daniel Theis caught the rebound, but he was unable to put up another shot in time. And the Celtics’ spoiled their own comeback story with a loss.
Because Boston had a timeout on that final possession, fans and media members wondered why they ran what felt like a rushed possession. Why didn’t coach Brad Stevens use that timeout?
very weird lapse for Brad "Not Mayor Pete" Stevens
— MVP_Dotson (@MVP_nobody) March 1, 2020
The Celtics played that possession like they thought it was a tie game… but kept their timeout like you would if you were trailing by one & might need to foul after a miss… and then held for the last shot like in a tie game. Totally bizarre. https://t.co/2yctdoAfWY
— nick wright (@getnickwright) March 1, 2020
Why did the Celtics wait so long to shoot that final shot. Disjointed OT and really disjointed last possession. They also had a timeout, which went unused. At least it can now be donated to charity.
— Darshan Singh (@DarshanVancity) March 1, 2020
Terrible final possession #Celtics
That was winnable. Missed opportunity.— Krunchy☘️ (@UncleKrunch) March 1, 2020
What in the world were the Celtics thinking on that last possession?
But I was told Bradley Stevens is a genius playcaller? 🤔🤔🤔
— Lior Kozai (@LiorKozai) March 1, 2020
Stevens actually addressed the skepticism in his postgame interview. He explained that he didn’t consider a timeout on the in-bound, but for a split second, thought about a timeout when Theis caught the rebound.
“With all their unpredictability on the side and how physical they are, sometimes it’s hard to get it in. So we felt like calling an action we were comfortable with and looking at a couple of options, which they blew up a couple of the options with their defense,” Stevens said, via NBC Sports Boston.
“But you know, like Jaylen (Brown) going to his right hand for a pull-up jump shot, it’s hard to get a good look in those moments. And he got a clean look at the rim and we believe in him and trust him. I guess the one time I would have considered calling a time out is if I thought Theis had control of the ball, you know, after the fact. But, you know, I was good with the way we ended that. That was fine.”
But the “fine” result wasn’t good enough for a win.
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