Celtics-Magics Notebook: Don’t ask Joe Mazzulla (too much) about the loss; Jayson Tatum draws loudest applause on a night he didn’t play

ORLANDO — Joe Mazzulla sat at the podium after a blowout loss to the Magic and fielded questions from the media. The 97-76 result was not too surprising considering the Celtics sat out their entire top six in Wednesday’s match-up, starting Payton Pritchard, Torrey Craig, Baylor Scheierman, Sam Hauser, and Luke Kornet. Still, it was an atypical outcome for a Celtics team that had won 17 of 18 on the road.

Postgame, reporters asked Mazzulla a variety of questions about the last road game of the season.

What went wrong offensively against the Magic? How much of a different role did Payton Pritchard find himself in? Were some of the turnovers the result of a lack of cohesion? How much can you learn about your young guys in these types of games? What was your message to the guys who rarely get NBA minutes before the game?

Then, about three minutes into his press conference, Mazzulla had enough.

“I appreciate everyone’s creativity in the type of questions that they’re asking,” the third-year head coach said to the reporters who made the trip down to Orlando. “But we got to the hotel at 4:30 in the morning. That was really fun what you guys did there. But what are we doing?”

Short-handed and on the second night of a back-to-back, the bench mob Celtics found themselves trailing by 20 in the first half. And, though they closed the gap to just 8 points at the half, they were never able to generate enough offensively to compete with the mostly-full-strength Magic, who were fighting for playoff positioning.

The game doesn’t have a ton of meaning, considering just how shorthanded the Celtics were. Still, the loss prevents them from tying the Warriors’ 2015-2016 record for most wins in a single season; the Celtics finish 33-8 on the road.

Here’s what stood out from on the ground in Orlando.

Payton Pritchard took some responsibility for the loss

With the Celtics shorthanded, it seemed like Payton Pritchard was poised for a big night. But, he hit just 1 of 7 three-point attempts and was limited to 15 points on 7-17 shooting (though he did rack up 10 assists).

The Celtics as a team shot an abysmal 7 of 40 from three, with no player hitting more than two three-pointers.

“Unfortunately, tonight, we didn’t hit too many of our good looks from three which obviously hurts, especially in the modern-day NBA,” Pritchard said. “You got to hit threes in order to win.”

Mazzulla said that Pritchard wasn’t in too dissimilar of a role from his usual.

Still, the Sixth Man of the Year frontrunner said that he shouldered some of the responsibility for what went wrong on Wednesday.

“It is a leadership jump,” he said. “You have to kind of lead the group, make sure everybody is involved, make sure everybody is playing the right way, and maybe I didn’t do the best job of that tonight. There were certain times I let the game kind of get out of control. They went on runs, and you need a bucket, or you need a stop… some of those are on me for sure.”

Pritchard is already looking ahead to how he can learn from the loss.

“I definitely look at this as a learning opportunity because I’m always trying to grow and always looking to take the next step and stuff like that,” he said. “These moments is crucial.”

Joe Mazzulla downplays the significance of rare bench player opportunities

For several Celtics, Wednesday’s game was a rare opportunity to get NBA minutes. JD Davison, who played 16 minutes, finished 0-6 from the field. Drew Peterson hit one three and grabbed 4 rebounds in his 13 minutes, and Jordan Walsh finished 0-3 in his 9 minutes.

Mazzulla said he doesn’t read into one game too much when evaluating how the young guys can contribute to the team.

“One game doesn’t do that, [it’s] a whole body of work over the course of games, practices, workouts, film sessions,” he said. “So, no, there’s not one thing they can do tonight that’ll impact what they’ve done over the season.”

At the same time, Mazzulla was cognizant of the fact that pressure is inevitable for the young guys who are fighting for a spot in the NBA.

“I would never tell someone not to put too much pressure,” he said. “That’s unrealistic when you’re playing for the Celtics and you’re trying to make it in the NBA, and so at the end of the day, it’s just focused on execution and doing what you do and relying on the work that you have. But there’s no such thing as too much or not enough pressure.”

Miles Norris scored his first NBA points

Celtics two-way player Miles Norris gave the Celtics a spark in the second half, hitting two threes and scoring his first NBA points. His first NBA basket was a three-pointer that came off a pass from former Pritchard, his former teammate at Oregon.

Jaylen Brown ruled out after going through warm-ups

Jaylen Brown (right knee impingement) was listed as questionable on the morning’s injury report but was ruled out of Wednesday’s game after going through warm-ups.

Brown was limited to 21 minutes in the win over the Knicks the night prior, and Mazzulla was asked about Brown seeming compromised in the victory, reminded of a play where Brown opted for a layup rather than a dunk with a wide-open lane to the basket.

“He got the two points, that’s the most important thing,” he said, maintaining Brown has played well through the injury. “I think he had a dunk a couple of games ago where he showed his athleticism. I think he showed his ability to drive the ball. You had the Phoenix game he was tremendous in. He had three straight line drives the other night.

“He‘s just a versatile player that can be able to do a bunch of different things, and he can take it to another level. And, the most important thing is that he’s efficient in what he does, whether it’s a dunk, layup, an open shot — he’s got to make it and make the right read.”

For Brown to reach the 65-game minimum and be eligible for NBA awards, he’ll have to play the final two games of the season, though he’s stated the games-played minimum is not a factor in his decision-making regarding whether to sit or play.

Jayson Tatum and Derrick White have a blast on the bench

Though they were inactive, Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, Kristaps Porzingis, and Jrue Holiday all sat on the bench for much of the game, high-fiving fans before the game and reacting to plays from the sideline. One of the loudest moments of applause on the night came when Tatum joined his teammates on the bench; the thousands of Celtics fans in attendance rejoiced.

The vibes on the bench remained high despite the lopsided score, with no play generating a more animated reaction than Neemias Queta’s emphatic dunk.

Queta smiled when he was informed postgame that his dunk was the fourth-highest rated of the season, according to the NBA’s official Dunk Score.

“Oh really? How do they measure that?”

A potential first-round Celtics-Magic preview?

With the win, the Magic clinched the No. 7 seed, meaning they’ll have home-court advantage in the Play-In Tournament. They’ll face the No. 8 seed — which could be the Hawks or the Bulls, depending on how the final games shake out — with the winner slated to face the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.

Wednesday wasn’t much of a preview, considering how shorthanded the Celtics were, but it nonetheless showcased what a Magic team is capable. Franz Wagner led the way with 25 points on 9-17 shooting, Cole Anthony added 18 points off the bench, and Paolo Banchero added 15 points.

“I think Orlando is a good team,” Mazzulla said. “I think they’re well-coached. I think they’re physical, they play hard on both ends of the floor, and they test you. That’s a good team.”

Pritchard said rebounding will remain a priority against the Magic.

“They’re big,” he said. “They have a lot of long players, so I feel like you got to push the pace against them. Can’t really play in the half-court, necessarily. Obviously, we didn’t have our full personnel, there are certain people that can take advantage of that.”

The playoffs will begin on April 19th, with the Magic’s consequential Play-In game taking place on Tuesday, April 15th.