BOSTON - The Boston Celtics dropped their sixth game of the season on Thursday night, losing to the Chicago Bulls by a score of 117-108. It was a neck-and-neck game all night long, but the Bulls pulled away in the end due to some shaky Celtics defense and a barrage of threes and layups. But none of that was the highlight of the night.
Late in the fourth, Jaylen Brown was trying to get a jump ball, but the referees said Payton Pritchard had to jump. Joe Mazzulla ran onto the court, and the refs gave him a tech. Shortly after, Brown got one, and Jayson Tatum earned a third a few minutes later.
After the game, Mazzulla was fired up, and he had to be held back by Sam Cassell and Tony Dobbins. He was screaming at the referees, beckoning them to come over and speak with him.
Joe Mazzulla explains post-game incident with referees
It was clear that he and the rest of the Celtics were fired up about the calls, but after the game, Mazzulla kept a level head. When asked about what he was trying to say to the refs after the game, Mazzulla decided to tell a different story than what most lip-readers may have picked up on.
“I just hadn't seen them in a while. So, just a Merry Christmas Happy Holidays,” Mazzulla said. “I wasn't sure I was going to see them before the holiday, and you just can't let a moment go by to where you wish someone just the best to them and theirs and their families.”
Joe Mazzulla was heated at a ref at the end of the Celtics game pic.twitter.com/HGEb7SBCnV
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) December 20, 2024
Anyone who watched the video of Mazzulla after the game knows that Mazzulla wasn’t trying to wish the officials a Merry Christmas. But that’s the story he’s going with.
Mazzulla also revealed that the reason he got the initial tech was because he was standing on the court when he wasn’t supposed to. And when asked about how he calmed down so quickly after the game, he claimed that he never got too fired up in the first place.
“I was never really worked up to level,” Mazzulla said. “I was fine.”
Again, anyone who watched the video can see that Mazzulla was not, in fact, fine. He was angry.
Regardless, Mazzulla didn’t want to cause any more of a stir than what had already occurred, as all that would have done was get him fined. Instead, he chose to paint his own picture of what went down after the final buzzer.