Joe Mazzulla stated that he has not stressed the importance of taking care of business at home. Derrick White stated that his coach is not lying.

“We don’t talk about it,” stated White.

Despite this, the Boston Celtics extended their unbeaten home record to 12-0 with a 116-107 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night. The Boston players think that a renewed focus on treating every game and practice the same way will be the key to their consistency inside TD Garden.

“Success is earned every single day,” Jaylen Brown explained. “That means we need to be aware of what’s going on and aware of the mission as a whole during every shootaround, every film session, and every time we’re together.” I believe our thinking has been much better in that sense this season than previous, just because a season may become monotonous at times. Guys begin to… sort of go through the motions. Things start to get boring. We want to make certain that we are as focused as possible. And I believe the home record demonstrates our efforts to improve.”

Brown didn’t think the Celtics were at their best on Thursday. He stated that they “just didn’t have that pop, that energy” that they usually do. Despite this, they were able to fend off the Cavaliers and their strong backcourt for the second time in a row with timely buckets and offensive rebounds. Brown thinks the Celtics should have pulled away sooner. Cleveland, he said, “shouldn’t have been in the game.” As he mentioned, it wasn’t the most beautiful home victory this season. The Celtics found a way even without their typical spirit.

They’ve always looked good in Boston. The Celtics have outscored opponents at TD Garden by an average of 16.5 points per 100 possessions while posting an NBA-best 18-5 record. They had to sweat a little against Cleveland, but they have rarely had to be concerned late in the fourth quarter at home. The Celtics have won seven of their 12 games at TD Garden by double digits. Four of those victories were by a margin of at least 15 points. Three of them were by at least 23 points, including a 51-point victory over the Indiana Pacers, which matched for the third-largest margin of victory in Celtics history. Tyrese Haliburton did not play that night for Indiana, but Boston has beaten every player who has walked into TD Garden this season. The Celtics’ closest victory in the arena came by three points against the Milwaukee Bucks, and it was only that close because Malik Beasley beat the final buzzer with a meaningless three-pointer to reduce the difference in half. Boston led by 20 points early in the fourth quarter before letting up a little.

More often than not, the Celtics haven’t taken their foot off the throttle. It may be paradoxical, but by treating all chores with the same seriousness, they have become destroyers at TD Garden. Large or tiny games. Games at home or on the road. Shootarounds or practices. Mazzulla desires that the Celtics win every day, not just every game.

“I’d say that’s more important,” Mazzulla added. “You have to think about it: we go to the (NBA) Finals without home-court advantage every two years.” We did not attend last year. I believe that home-court advantage is crucial because you want to be able to play at the Garden with the people, be in the city, and have that. That, I believe, is significant. Finally, you may not be able to control it, but we must be able to play regardless of the circumstances. I believe we are beginning to learn and figure out how to do so. That is what we want to be known for.”

The Celtics have proven that they can win in every situation, including elimination games. One of the Celtics’ biggest strengths in recent seasons has been their unflappability on the road. It has propelled them to some significant postseason victories away from the TD Garden. Game 6 will be held in Milwaukee. Game 7 will be held in Miami. During last season’s Eastern Conference finals, the Celtics needed two road wins to avoid elimination against the Heat, including a Game 6 victory completed by White’s buzzer-beating put-back finish. When the Celtics have had their backs against the wall, they have frequently produced their best effort regardless of the venue. However, following White’s miracle, the series was moved back to Boston. And after Jayson Tatum hurt his ankle on the first possession, the Celtics offense remained silent for the rest of the game. Following the unfortunate exit, Brad Stevens highlighted various reasons why his squad fell short, but he kept returning to the same concept.

“As I kind of do the postmortem of the season,” Stevens explained, “there’s all these things that we’ve talked about.” And then I think back to if we were over.500 at home (during the postseason), we’d have had rest (during the playoffs), and we’d be in the championship game.”

The sentiment emphasized the razor-thin margin between winning and losing in the playoffs. It highlighted how close Boston came to making a second consecutive finals appearance. And, to be honest, it had to pain Stevens every time he thought about it. With a little more success on their home court, the Celtics may have separated themselves from the Heat and met Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets for the championship. However, Boston dropped two straight games at home to start the Eastern Conference playoffs, then fell to Miami in Game 7 at TD Garden. Even before that series, hiccups at home hampered the Celtics’ playoff chances. They could have won Game 5 against the Atlanta Hawks, but Trae Young engineered a double-digit fourth-quarter rally. Despite the fact that Joel Embiid did not play in the first game of a second-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Celtics lost despite giving up 45 points to James Harden. This contributed to Boston’s 3-2 series deficit. The Celtics won in seven games by avoiding elimination twice, but they might have made their path easier by removing more of Philadelphia’s hope in Game 1.

“When I think about last year, I always just say we always made it difficult for ourselves,” White was quoted as saying.

The Celtics are attempting to counteract that shortcoming. Mazzulla has stated that they must exert the same amount of effort against smaller opponents as they do in big games. He aspires to establish a team that doesn’t require an excuse to be exceptional. That involves finding methods to put out effort and execution every night, regardless of location or level of competition.