The inaugural run of the NBA In-Season Tournament has come to a close, and the Boston Celtics weren't able to capture the first NBA Cup despite being one of the betting favorites.

While they made it out of group play after going 3-1, the C's fell to the Indiana Pacers 122-112 in the quarterfinals. The Pacers ended up advancing all the way to the In-Season Tournament championship before losing 123-109 to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla was a little disappointed that his squad lost early in the new regular season format, but he knows Boston has a different end goal in mind. He explained his philosophy to the media on Monday morning, via WEEI reporter Justin Turpin.

“If we're going to use all of our emotional energy to do this one thing and we still have 61 games left, what's going to be our motivation after that?” Mazzulla asked. “Are we frustrated that we didn't get a chance to win a championship? Yes, but we have to see the things that go into winning a championship are the things that go into winning on a Monday night in the middle of January … We're really fighting for that mindset.”

Despite the Green Team's In-Season Tournament defeat, they're 16-5 and in first place in the Eastern Conference. Mazzulla wants to give every single game importance and the Celtics have done a solid job of adhering to that mentality. So far, Boston has gone 7-1 against sub-.500 teams and a perfect 10-0 at home.

The Celtics will have to continue to follow that mindset, as they have a tough stretch of games on the horizon. Boston will resume action against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night and play them again on Thursday. Then the Orlando Magic, who've won four straight games against the Celtics, will come to Boston for two different contests on Friday and Sunday.

Following this homestand, the C's embark on a difficult four-game road trip to California. There they'll take on the Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Clippers, and finally, the rival Lakers on Christmas Day.