Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla has been on the receiving end of a heavy backlash after he didn't call a timeout in the final possession of their overtime loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 4. However, the C's tactician emphasized his belief that what they did at the end of the game was the right play. It's just that they were slow to execute it.

For those who missed it, after James Harden gave the Sixers the 116-115 lead, the Celtics still had 19 seconds to pull off a game-winner. Instead of calling for a timeout and having his team regroup, though, Mazzulla let his team run the clock and attempt one final attack.

Unfortunately, Tatum only attacked the basket when there were only five seconds left. He had plenty of bodies on him, and by the time he threw a pass on Marcus Smart who was waiting at the 3-point line, there was no time left. Smart drained his triple, but it was too late.

In his postgame presser, Mazzulla thought they had a good play in the end. They just wasted a lot of time before pulling it off.

ā€œThat was the play, we just had to play with a bit more pace. We had the right matchup, Jayson [Tatum] got downhill and made the right play at the rim,ā€ Mazzulla explained, via ClutchPoints.

For what it's worth, calling a timeout would have probably helped in that situation. Perhaps Jayson Tatum, Marcus Smart and the rest of the team would have been more aware of the time instead of cutting it close.

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In the end, though, it's the results that matter and the Celtics lost. Instead of going up 3-1, things are now tied at 2-2. Hopefully, Joe Mazzulla and the team learned their lesson in the contest. If they want to make it back to the Finals, they can't lose winnable games like this one.