Joe Mazzulla doesn't really explain why he didn't use any timeouts at the end of Celtics' Game 4 loss

BOSTON -- The Celtics had their chances to go up 3-1 on the 76ers on Sunday. Instead, they'll be coming home tied 2-2 after a head-scratching finish to their Game 4 overtime loss in Philadelphia.

After a frustrating three quarters the Celtics stormed back in the fourth and looked poised to take a commanding series lead. But Marcus Smart missed what would have been a game-winning three at the buzzer to close regulation. And then his potential game-winning three at the end of overtime -- which did go in -- left his hand just a second too late after the C's took their sweet time to run a play following James Harden's go-ahead three on the other end.

In both cases, head coach Joe Mazzulla decided not to call a timeout to organize his troops and draw up a play. This is nothing new from Mazzulla, who often opts to let his players play through possessions rather than call for a break in action. Whether a team is going on a run or it's an end of the game situation, Mazzulla loves to just let the game flow.

There was 16.1 seconds left on the clock when Harden made his game-tying layup at the end of regulation. Instead of calling a timeout, Mazzulla let his players run the show. Smart brought the ball up and held it until there was 5.5 seconds left, giving it to Tatum for a drive. Tatum got under the hoop and was met by a wall of 76ers, and dished it back to Smart for an open look at a three on the wing. Smart missed, and the game went to overtime.

Tatum gave the Celtics a 115-113 lead with a stepback three with 38 seconds left in the extra frame, but Jaylen Brown left Harden open in the corner to double team Joel Embiid under the basket. Harden drained the three with 19 seconds left to put Philly back on top by a point.

Once again, there was no timeout from the Boston sideline.

Smart brought the ball up and once he crossed midcourt, stood around for a few seconds before giving it to Tatum with 7.5 seconds left. Tatum stood around for two more seconds before he began his drive into the paint, and by the time he dished it off to Smart on the other side, the red light had gone off before Smart could get the shot out of his hand. Smart hit the shot, but it was too little, too late.

After the loss, Mazzulla said that was the play they wanted to run, but the execution was off. 

"That was the play, we just had to play with a little more pace," he said. "We had the right matchup. Jayson got downhill and made the right play at the rim. We just had to play with a little more pace there. But that was the play."

You can certainly question letting the game play out after Harden's overtime make, though there is some merit to not calling the timeout. Both Harden and Tyrese Maxey were on the floor for Philly, and calling a timeout would have let Doc Rivers sub in some better defenders. And the Celtics did get the clean look they sought after Tatum's drive, though you can understand why Smart was so open. He's a true trick-or-treat shooter, and unfortunately for Boston, the end-of-game shot that he did make came after the buzzer.

But why not call a timeout with around eight seconds left as the Celtics were dawdling around with the ball? A little more urgency could have gotten the Celtics a second look had their first shot missed. Or maybe call a timeout and get a better shooter -- say, Malcolm Brogdon -- on the floor in place of Smart?

And is a Smart three -- he was 4-for-10 from downtown for the game -- really the best play with the team only trailing by one points? You need points in that situation or the game is over, and a Smart three isn't the most high-percentage option available.

"In a situation like that you just want to make the best play possible," said Mazzulla. "We communicate that as a staff, players communicate that. We just want to make the right play."

That was all that Mazzulla offered up, which is not much in the accountability department. He remains steadfast in his ways, and it's just something everyone has to get used to. It's vast difference from the Brad Stevens era, when ATOs and well drawn-up plays at the end of regulation were one of the team's calling cards.

Granted, these Celtics are a lot older than the Stevens era teams, and Mazzulla trusts guys like Tatum and Brown to make the right read and the right play. It's occasionally the right call. But even these incredibly talented stars need some coaching from time to time.

Everyone else was accountable after the game. Brown, who mysteriously didn't attempt a shot in overtime, took the blame for leaving Harden alone in the corner for his winner in overtime.

"Just a bad read. That's it. It's a gamble at the wrong time and a big shot by James Harden, but that's my fault," Brown said. "I take full accountability. It's just a bad read."

Tatum admitted that he should have gotten rolling and passed the ball a second or two earlier at the end of overtime. He also defended Mazzulla's no-timeout approach, saying they played this way last postseason too, and it led to his game-winning layup against the Nets in Game 1 of the first round.

"Sometimes the ball goes in and sometimes it doesn't. We have a good core group that knows how to play under pressure in those situations," said Tatum, who finished with 24 points after scoring just two in the first half. "It just doesn't always go your way."

Maybe the ball should find its way to Brown more often, especially in crunch time. He took just three shots in the fourth quarter before going shot-less in overtime. 

"I guess I got to demand the ball a little bit more," said Brown, who finished with 23 points off 10-for-16 shooting. "I thought good things happened when the ball was in my hand.''

The Celtics had a chance to steal both games in Philadelphia and head home with a chance to close the series out. They were able to steal home-court back by winning Friday's Game 3, but now the pressure is on to win Tuesday night's Game 5 at the TD Garden. And leading up to that game, they'll be hounded with questions about their coach's late-game approach on Sunday, with reporters eager to get the answers they know they won't be getting from Mazzulla.

Last postseason, the Celtics were tied 2-2 with the Milwaukee Bucks heading into Game 5, and dropped that game at home to make their postseason lives more difficult. They ultimately won Game 6 on the road and blew out Milwaukee in Game 7, but that's a scenario they'd like to avoid this time around.

"Game 5 is pivotal. You have to make sure you're ready to go," said Brown. "Both teams are physically, mentally tired. We would have liked to be up 3-1 but we're not; it's 2-2. Be ready to go for the next one."