by Heated Mazzulla held back while confronting the referee after the loss to the Bulls originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla let his emotions run wild after his team’s 117-108 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night.
The chaos at TD Garden began in the fourth quarter when Mazzulla received a technical foul for entering the field after a jump ball call. Jaylen Brown was called to a technician moments later after arguing with an official, and fellow C’s Jayson Tatum felt like arguing with a referee later in the quarter.
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After the final buzzer sounded, Mazzulla had to be restrained as he charged at official Justin Van Duyne. When asked after the game what message he wanted to send, Mazzulla said he was in the holiday spirit.
“I hadn’t seen him for a while. So just Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays,” he replied. “Not a moment can go by without wishing them and others the best.”
Mazzulla also confirmed that none of his statements warranted a technical foul. He was booed for entering the field.
“I just can’t be on the pitch. The referee had to do his job. I was on the court,” Mazzulla said.
Brown revealed after the game that he told the referee he called a technician at Mazzulla “for no reason.” When the referee told him that he would also be happy if he said it again, Brown repeated his statement and received his technical foul.
“If I tell you that you just called a technician for no reason, and you say, ‘If you say it again, I’ll call another technician,’ and I say it again and you call a technician, then are you? Just using your whistle as a threat isn’t part of the game either, and I think it’s nonsense—-.
While the three technical fouls in the fourth quarter contributed to the Celtics’ downfall, their real loss was their uncharacteristically poor 3-point shooting. In the loss, they shot just 14 of 56 (25 percent) from distance.
They will try to bounce back in a rematch against the Bulls in Chicago on Saturday. This match is scheduled to kick off at 8:00 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Boston.
