BOSTON — Joe Mazzulla, taking the podium after a bloodbath in the paint against the Raptors that the Celtics narrowly escaped, looked down at the box score to find how many points Jakob Poeltl scored. Boston had allowed 76 points in the paint in their 126-123 overtime win, falling to 27th in that area defensively.
“You have to go 76 minus 35, because [Poetl] shoots floaters from inside the dots and that’s a shot that you’re willing to give up over time,” he said. “Those are all technically in the paint, so some of those you have to give up.