Another factor was that Jrue Holiday did not play, as he was absent because of a hamstring injury. The Celtics could have used Holiday's ballhandling and playmaking in his absence, and he may have made all the difference,

Since becoming the Celtics' head coach in 2022, Joe Mazzulla has become a quotable head coach in the association.

Mazzulla went with his usual starters, but mixed and matched throughout the entire first half searching for some rhythm of both ends of the floor. The starters came out uneven offensively, and the bench was much of the same outside of Payton Pritchard until halftime.