Joe Mazzulla took the blame for the late-game miscues, saying he put his players in poor position but it was evident that Horford’s absence proved costly in that spot since Kornet has not played in crunch time for much of the season.

Those last two plays are on me. Those are my fault.” Joe Mazzulla pointed the finger at himself after the Celtics dropped a 114-112 thriller to the Rockets on Monday night.

Boston nearly pulled off a great win, but fell for the seventh time this season after leading by at least 10 points.