Before Wednesday's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla spoke to reporters for the first time since his team's controversial loss to the Indiana Pacers.
Boston fell to Indiana in the final seconds of Monday's matchup after two questionable calls by the officials. Jaylen Brown drew a foul with the game tied and 3.2 seconds left on the clock, but the call was overturned after the Pacers challenged. With a second to go, Kristaps Porzingis was called for a foul on Bennedict Mathurin's game-winning shot attempt. Mathurin hit two of his free throws to seal the Pacers' 133-131 win.
In the aftermath of the devastating defeat, Mazzulla said he looked forward to the NBA's Last Two Minute Report. Brown called for the league to conduct an investigation. But when the Last Two Minute Report was released on Tuesday, it only added fuel to the fire.
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In its official ruling, the NBA agreed Brown was not fouled by Buddy Hield despite the Pacers guard making clear contact with Brown's head. The league also determined that Porzingis should not have been called for a foul on Mathurin's shot.
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At the start of Mazzulla's press conference Wednesday, he appeared to brush off the Indiana drama by stating it's "more important to focus on the third quarter for our team.” The Celtics allowed the Tyrese Haliburton-less Pacers to score a whopping 44 points in the frame.
But to wrap up his availability, Mazzulla posed a question to the reporters in attendance.
“Before I forget, no one’s ever asked me what my favorite scene from The Town was. I know you guys all know that’s my favorite movie, but no one’s ever been curious about what my favorite scene is?”
The Town is a 2010 heist film set in Boston. One reporter asked Mazzulla if his favorite scene from the movie was a robbery in Charlestown, Mass.
“Nah. That’s my second favorite one," Mazzulla replied. "My favorite one is Doug MacRay is getting ready to leave town and he skips by the FBI’s car and leaves a nice, well-thought-out handwritten note underneath the antennae and then gets out of town. That’s my favorite scene.”
The hand-written note Mazzulla referred to reads, "Go f--- yourself." Interesting timing for that one, eh?
If Mazzulla bringing up that specific The Town scene wasn't a shot at the NBA and its officials, it sure was a wild coincidence. If it was a message to the league, it was a smart way to avoid a fine and far more subtle than what Toronto Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic had to say about the refs on Tuesday night.
The Celtics will put that Pacers loss behind them and host the Western Conference-leading Timberwolves on the first night of a back-to-back. A win would bring Boston to 18-0 this season at TD Garden.