What Went Wrong For Celtics In Game 5 Collapse Vs. 76ers? Joe Mazzulla Explains

What Went Wrong For Celtics In Game 5 Collapse Vs. 76ers? Joe Mazzulla Explains originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Boston Celtics were one quarter away from finishing off the Philadelphia 76ers on their home floor and advancing to the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Instead, they went ice-cold during the fourth quarter of Game 5, scoring just 11 points in the period and missing their final 16 field goal attempts.

Now, the Celtics will have to go back to Philadelphia for Game 6 on Thursday, where they'll try again to close out the series.

After Tuesday's crushing loss, Joe Mazzulla explained what went wrong for Boston in Game 5.

Joe Mazzulla to @RealBobManning on went WRONG for the Celtics:

"Obviously had some back to back turnovers that led to 3s. We had some empty possessions on the offensive rebound that led tosome of the shots there. I think the game is connected in that and I thought it was a… pic.twitter.com/ppoIo6YIjR— Celtics on CLNS (@CelticsCLNS) April 29, 2026

"Obviously had some back-to-back turnovers that led to threes. We had some empty possessions on the offensive rebound that led to some of the shots there. I think the game is connected in that and I thought it was a little bit of both (bad offense and defense)," Mazzulla said during his postgame press conference.

As for the Celtics' cold spell to end the game, Mazzulla didn't sound too concerned about it.

"Got some good looks. Weren’t able to capitalize," Mazzulla explained.

After posting underwhelming 40/28/61 shooting splits in Game 5, Boston will need to capitalize on those looks if it wants to win Game 6.

More NBA: Celtics Blow Game 5 With Shocking Fourth Quarter Meltdown Vs. 76ers