Jayson Tatum always wants to play, but he knows that last season’s long, exhausting run to the NBA Finals taught him important lessons in staying fresh for the games that truly matter.

Striking that balance will be key for the Celtics and their superstar as the regular season hits the home stretch.

Tatum entered Wednesday’s game against the Nets ranked fourth in the NBA in minutes (1,798) and second in minutes per game (37.5). Barring games he may sit out over the last two-plus months of the season, he’s on track to exceed the amount of minutes he played last season (2,731), when fatigue and minor injuries ultimately caught up to him in June.

Tatum’s minutes ticked up to 38.7 per game in January thanks to three overtime games, including two in the last week and two in which he played 47 and 48 minutes apiece. Asked about a plan to scale back Tatum’s minutes the rest of the season, interim head coach Joe Mazzulla offered a familiar tune.

“Don’t play overtime games,” Mazzulla said, a line he repeated from the weekend.

It is, of course, more complicated than that. Tatum indicated last month that he’ll have conversations with president of basketball operations Brad Stevens about taking rest days during the second half of the schedule, especially as he continues to manage lingering wrist and finger injuries.

But last season’s experience was notable as he prepares for another hopeful playoff run. Tatum changed his diet and said he learned certain things he needs to do during the season to properly prepare for that. That understanding is also certain to influence decisions on Tatum’s minutes for the rest of the season.

“I trust how he takes care of his body, I trust the people around him and I trust everything that he does,” Mazzulla said. “Will there be moments when we have to cut his minutes down? Yes, absolutely. I’m not here in favor of playing guys until they can’t play anymore. At the same time I trust his work ethic and I trust the people around him to think that he took what he learned from the finals and was able to apply that in his summer workouts, in his preseason workouts and in his daily approach to how he takes care of himself.”

While Mazzulla played down the honor of being named an All-Star Game head coach, his players are doing the opposite. Marcus Smart praised his coach on Tuesday and suggested that Mazzulla is actually pumped about it, and Al Horford followed suit on Wednesday.

“It doesn’t matter to him, but it’s a big deal for us,” Horford said. “It’s pretty special. It’s impressive how he’s been able to take the helm and lead us through this path. The beginning of this season just wasn’t easy. All the unknowns going on. The coaching staff, too. Everybody has really kind of come together. All the assistants, Joe, everybody’s come together and kind of made it work for us. Really, the transition’s been good, it’s been smooth and we’ve just been able to focus and move forward. He’s not celebrating, I’m celebrating for him, and as a team, we’re pretty happy.”

LeBron James doesn’t seem to be over the controversial ending of the Celtics’ overtime win over the Lakers on Saturday, when he was denied potentially game-winning free throws at the end of the regulation after a foul wasn’t called on his game-winning layup attempt. Referee Eric Lewis later admitted his crew made an error in not calling a foul on Tatum, who clearly made contact with James’ left forearm.

After the Lakers’ overtime win over the Knicks on Tuesday, James was asked what the difference was from what transpired in Boston in his team coming out on top after Los Angeles blew a late six-point lead against the Knicks that forced overtime.

“I mean, the difference between here and Boston is obviously self explanatory,” James told reporters. “We were up six, we had an opportunity to make some plays but they made plays. Jalen Brunson took a charge, we got a stop. The game was decided by the players. In Boston, the game was decided by the refs. So, it was more demoralizing.

“We tried to (overcome it), but obviously what happened in Boston was what happened. Tonight the game was decided at the end of regulation by the players.”

The All-Star reserves will be announced on Thursday night, and Jaylen Brown is nearly a lock to make his second All-Star team.

The choices for reserve players are made by NBA coaches. Mazzulla didn’t reveal who he picked, but shared his general criteria.

“How well they played against us, how well they played throughout the year,” Mazzulla said. “I like to look at their numbers, efficiency. Just kind of take the emotion out of it and just look at the basketball player of it.” …

Robert Williams returned after missing Saturday’s win over the Lakers with a right ankle sprain.