BOSTON — Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla takes pleasure in on-court chaos. In fact, a hectic environment is arguably where he finds himself most at home. With this in mind, it's no surprise the fourth-year skipper remained calm during a confusing and controversial finish to the Celtics' 117-114 win over the red-hot Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.

After Celtics guard Derrick White and 21-year-old wing Jordan Walsh teamed up to force a turnover from Pistons star Cade Cunningham with 12 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, the Green Team looked like they were well on their way to an NBA Cup victory. The Celtics had the ball and could just make free throws every time they were fouled to keep their lead at three points.

Whenever the Pistons had the ball in that final stretch, the C's — who were already in the bonus  — elected to repeatedly foul them before they could even put a shot up, preventing a three-point possession. However, Mazzulla's plan backfired for reasons beyond his control.

Up three with four seconds left in the contest, the Celtics were just one stop away from upsetting the Pistons, so they continued to implement their foul strategy when Cunningham received the ball. This time, though, the 2025 All-Star made a crafty play and launched a shot from halfcourt in the hopes that the officials viewed it as a shooting foul.

Cunningham anticipated Boston's quick foul but it seemed like his plan failed when the officials said the call was on the floor. The referees then convened, reversed their decision, and gave the Pistons exactly what they needed: a shooting foul and three free throws.

How did Joe Mazzulla respond to a disastrous turn of events?

TD Garden was in an uproar. The Celtics on the court and the sidelines couldn't believe it. Yet, through all the turmoil, Mazzulla stayed focused.

“I think the players deserved to win that and it was my responsibility to stay as present as I can into what was going to happen next,” Mazzulla replied when asked about his reaction to the surprising call. “I think the players deserved to win so it's my job to give them the best chance at that, and the best chance was to not respond.”

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Boston argued that first-year Celtic Josh Minott fouled Cunningham well before his shot attempt. Instead, Walsh earned the foul and Cunningham was going to the line with a chance to tie the game.

Despite his team's shock and the anger radiating from the 19,000 fans in attendance at TD Garden, Mazzulla fairly acknowledged that the questionable call was not an easy one to make.

“It's also a 50-50 call,” he admitted. “At the end of the day, it is what it is. It's a bang-bang play. We did our best to execute it. It wasn't there, but our guys deserved to win so I got to stay in there.”

The basketball gods may have rewarded Mazzulla for his patience, as Cunningham (who shoots 85% from the charity stripe for his career and finished with 42 points on the night) hit his first two free throws before missing the last one. Following the surprising mistake, Celtics point guard Payton Pritchard corralled the rebound and sank his two free throws on the other end, sealing the win for Boston.

While some might question the Celtics' commitment to fouling late rather than playing straight-up defense, Mazzulla recalled his team's win over the Los Angeles Clippers from two Sundays ago. The C's opted not to foul up three with less than two seconds remaining and Clippers star James Harden nearly made them pay with a potential game-tying shot from beyond the arc that was just off the mark.

“It's just the epitome of the late-game being kind of a crapshoot,” Mazzulla said candidly.

Whether it was good karma or good planning that helped in the end, all that mattered to the Celtics was that they were able to leave home with a win and snap the Pistons' 13-game winning streak. And although the narrow victory didn't stop the Celtics from being eliminated from NBA Cup contention, it provided them with proof that they can hang with any team.