PHILADELPHIA -- The fear of infamy can be a great motivating force.
Joe Mazzulla and Jayson Tatum felt this in different but important ways Thursday night as the Boston Celtics were facing a disastrous end to their season at the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers.
The young coach and the star player had to come face-to-face with the sort of lasting regret that ruins summers and sticks stubbornly on the résumé. They were left with no choice but to do something to avoid it, and that apprehension appears to have served them well as Boston stayed alive with a 95-86 Eastern Conference semifinal Game 6 victory.