The Boston Celtics' second consecutive loss didn't dampen Joe Mazzulla's wit, it appears.
The Celtics' late comeback fell just short Wednesday night against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center, as they fell 106-103 when Kristaps Porzingis missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation.
Boston struggled mightily on offense, hitting just 31.9 percent of its 3-pointers (15 for 37) and shooting just 39.6 percent overall. Sixers big man Joel Embiid played a key role in limiting the Celtics, particularly in the paint, where he tallied four blocks and contested a game-high 16 shot attempts.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Mazzulla has a theory for why Embiid was so good at protecting the rim Wednesday night.
MORE CELTICS COVERAGE
"The one thing we've got to teach our bigs is to stand in the paint on defense and not move," Mazzulla said after the game. "We've just got to be able to do that so we can protect the rim. I thought Embiid did a great job of standing in the paint, protecting the rim and forcing us to kick it out, and I just didn't think we made them."
If you're detecting a hint of sarcasm from Mazzulla, you're onto something. When a reporter took the bait and asked Mazzulla why his own big men don't camp out in the paint on defense, the Celtics head coach delivered the punch line.
"Well, there is a rule called D3," Mazzulla added. "I don't even know if it's a rule anymore. I'll have to look it up."
That's a pretty creative way of Mazzulla saying he thought the officials missed a few defensive three-second calls on Embiid.
The NBA's three-second rule states that any player can't be in the paint for more than three seconds at a time, but to Mazzulla's point, it isn't enforced with much regularity. A 2021 study of the NBA's "Last Two Minute" reports found that just 1 percent of defensive three-second calls in the final two minutes were correctly assessed over a five-season span.
You could argue that's for the best, as constant whistles for three-second violations would significantly disrupt gameplay. But it seems like Mazzulla wanted to send a subtle message here that perhaps will be on the referees' minds when the Celtics and Sixers face each other again next Wednesday.