Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla let his emotions get the best of him after his team's 117-108 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night.
The chaos at TD Garden began during the fourth quarter when Mazzulla received a technical foul for stepping on the court after a jump ball call. Jaylen Brown was called for a tech moments later after having words with an official, and fellow C's star Jayson Tatum was T'd up for bickering with a ref later in the quarter.
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After the final buzzer sounded, Mazzulla had to be restrained as he went after official Justin Van Duyne. Asked after the game what message he was trying to send, Mazzulla said he was in the holiday spirit.
“I hadn't seen him in a while. So, just a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday," he answered. "Can't let a moment go by where you don't wish the best to them and theirs.”
Mazzulla also confirmed that it wasn't anything he said that warranted a technical foul. He was whistled for stepping on the court.
“I just can’t be on the court. Ref 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 tech on Mazzulla "for no reason." When the ref told him he'd also be T'd up if he said it again, Brown repeated himself and received his technical foul.
"When I tell you that you just called a tech for no reason, and you say, 'If you say it again, I'm going to call another tech,' and I say it again and you call a tech, you're just threatening your whistle as a threat. Like, that’s not part of the game either, and I think it’s bull----."
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While the three fourth-quarter technical fouls contributed to the Celtics' demise, what really cost them was their uncharacteristically poor 3-point shooting. They shot just 14-for-56 (25 percent) from beyond the arc in the defeat.
They'll look to bounce back in a rematch with the Bulls in Chicago on Saturday. Tip-off for that matchup is set for 8 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Boston.