The Celtics seemed to be in something of a no-win proposition as they arrived at TD Garden on Thursday.

They could beat the Pistons. So what? The best team in the NBA is supposed to win against a team that entered on a 27-game losing streak. If they lost? Well, that would be embarrassing, to say the least.

Joe Mazzulla, though, took exception to that suggestion. After the Celtics narrowly avoided the unthinkable, overcoming an early 21-point deficit and surviving in overtime to send the Pistons to their 28th consecutive loss, the coach denied the notion that this was a game he just wanted to get over with, or had nothing to gain from.

“Why do we have nothing to gain from winning a basketball game?” Mazzulla responded. “We actually learned more from that game than we did probably playing the four games on the West Coast trip. That’s an opportunity to build a mindset and toughness. So to me, it’s like we have everything to gain in this, and you talk about the In-Season Tournament creating something, how about the level of stress and pressure and anxiety that you felt in that arena today?

“Like to me, we gained a ton from tonight’s game. I thought it was an awesome opportunity. We said that at halftime, like, we have an opportunity to build toughness, to build a mindset.”

Mazzulla stressed to the Celtics before Thursday’s game that they can’t have expectations for how a game is going to go. From the outside, it looked like an easy game. A cakewalk. But not everything is what it seems. Despite their record, the Pistons had been playing hard and losing close games. The C’s were playing their first game home after a long road trip, which is always difficult. Mazzulla knew the Pistons would play with even more desperation and effort given the opponent.

The Celtics still didn’t start well as they lacked energy and effort in the first half. But that’s part of building the mindset and toughness that Mazzulla wants to create. He embraced the challenge and the unique circumstances.

“I’m not worried about what happened in the first half,” Mazzulla said.” That’s going to happen from time to time. I’m more worried about how we respond to it. It says more about our guys, how we responded to the second half than how it went in the first half. We’re just not going to play perfect basketball all the time, so to have that expectation, it’s just not there.”

For Mazzulla, the game served as another valuable lesson for the Celtics. Another example to explain they can’t expect a game to go a certain way, and play with the same consistent mindset regardless of the circumstances.

“I think if you manage your expectations, it allows for you to execute and play with a free mind, and that’s what I told the guys before shootaround,” Mazzulla said. “I was like, ‘You can’t have any expectations to how you think this game is going to go, because we just have to be ready to adapt and do what’s necessary to win the game. …

“I expected this to be one of the hardest games of the year, and I like just how our guys responded to it.”