{"id":76648,"date":"2024-01-14T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-14T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.celticsblog.com\/2024\/1\/14\/24037721\/despite-the-distractions-boston-celtics-dominate-houston-rocketsime-udoka"},"modified":"2024-01-14T17:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-01-14T17:00:00","slug":"despite-distractions-celtics-dominate-rockets-these-are-the-moments-that-get-you-mentally-prepared-for-deep-playoff-runs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/2024\/01\/14\/despite-distractions-celtics-dominate-rockets-these-are-the-moments-that-get-you-mentally-prepared-for-deep-playoff-runs\/","title":{"rendered":"Despite distractions, Celtics dominate Rockets:\u00a0\u201cThese are the moments that get you mentally prepared for deep playoff runs\u201d\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo by Brian Babineau\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum combine for 59 points, put together masterpiece performances to help blowout the Rockets \u2013 and former coach Ime Udoka. <\/em><\/p>\n

Off-the-court storylines dominated the lead-up to Saturday night\u2019s game against the Rockets: How would the team respond to a blowout so bad against their Eastern Conference rivals that TNT changed the channel<\/a>? <\/p>\n

What about Ime Udoka being back in the building \u2013 would the complicated reunion, and all of the media hype around it, ultimately serve as a distraction? And what about maintaining the franchise-best home winning streak \u2013 was the pressure starting to mount? <\/p>\n

A few quarters of solid \u2013 but not perfect \u2013 basketball began to erase those storylines and help elevate the Celtics\u2019 record to a historic 19-0 at home and an NBA-best, 30-9 overall. <\/p>\n

The Celtics defeated the Rockets 145-113 behind dominant performances from their two All NBA wings and a third quarter that saw the Celtics explode for 43 points and a 26-point lead heading into the final period. <\/p>\n

By the end of the night, Ime Udoka\u2019s pregame presser<\/a>, which was filled with a plethora of questions about his ambiguous suspension and its well-chronicled aftermath, was a lingering memory. <\/p>\n

Fans met the former coach\u2019s return with a healthy mix of boos and applause<\/a>, and for the most part, players and coaches alike minimized the gravity of it all. <\/p>\n

Joe Mazzulla was happy with the physicality and defense in the third quarter, but also acknowledged that there was room to improve. The Rockets won the shot margin, for example, a metric Mazzulla often references \u2013 Houston attempted 99 field goals to Boston\u2019s 95. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a good win, but we got to live in the space of \u2018we can be better,\u2019\u201d Joe Mazzulla said. Not that anything\u2019s wrong, it doesn\u2019t need to be a big deal, but if we can live in the space of \u2018we\u2019re a good team, but it\u2019s not good enough,\u2019 that\u2019s a healthy place to be and that\u2019s how we can grow.\u201d <\/p>\n

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\u201cThat\u2019s a good win, but we got to live in the space of \u2014 we can better. Not that anything\u2019s wrong, it doesn\u2019t need to be a big deal, but if we can live in the space of \u2018we\u2019re a good team, but it\u2019s not good enough\u2019 that\u2019s a healthy place to be and that\u2019s how we can grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Via\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/laSBr48wVo<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzellNBA) January 14, 2024<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n