Mazzulla believes Kings are a ‘revived’ team amid six-game winning streak originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
What is it called when a team responds to a five-game skid, a coaching change and wins six in a row, including a big win against the reigning NBA champions?
Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla summed it up perfectly.
“Sacramento is a revitalized team,” Mazzulla told reporters after the Kings’ 114-97 win over his Celtics on Friday night at TD Garden. “They’ve won six in a row now. They’re a good team, they just beat us. I don’t have an answer for that, but tonight they just played better than us.”
Joe Mazzulla credited the Sacramento Kings for their play tonight:
“Sacramento is a revitalized team. They have now won six in a row. They’re a good team, they just outplayed us… tonight they just played better than us.” pic.twitter.com/YwobN2ZeBE
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) January 11, 2025
The Kings had three days off to recover from their dual win against the Miami Heat on Monday night at Golden 1 Center before packing their bags for a short three-game road trip.
Regardless of the rest, the first stop of the road trip was not an easy atmosphere.
Defending champions. A hostile environment like TD Garden. Not to mention that Boston was also well rested with two days off.
That’s why Celtics star Jayson Tatum will only be pointing the finger at himself for the loss.
“I don’t want to blame the fact that we lost today because it was a kicking game,” Tatum told reporters after the game (h/t CelticsCLNS). “Everyone plays 82 games. Everyone travels. Everyone plays back-to-back. So I don’t want to use that as an excuse.
“[The] observation is that we need to be better in all areas of the game.”
Boston (27-11) remains in second place in the Eastern Conference, trailing only the historically dominant Cleveland Cavaliers. Meanwhile, Sacramento (19-19) has the No. 9 seed in the stacked Western Conference.
Two weeks after the Kings fired former coach Mike Brown, Sacramento interim head coach Doug Christie and his “revived” squad have managed to turn things around as they look to continue climbing the Western Conference standings.
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