Mazzulla was frustrated with the officiating and had to be held back from going at a referee postgame.
Joe Mazzulla was frustrated. The entire Celtics team was frustrated with the officiating and themselves after a 117-108 loss to the Chicago Bulls, but it was Mazzulla who lost it and had to be restrained postgame.
Joe Mazzulla was heated at a ref at the end of the Celtics game pic.twitter.com/HGEb7SBCnV
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) December 20, 2024
That outburst earned Mazzulla a $35,000 fine from the league office for “aggressively pursuing and directing inappropriate language toward a game official,” the league announced Saturday. Mazzulla already had a technical in the game — as did Jaylen Brown — when they argued that a loose ball that became a jump ball between Ayo Dosunmu and Payton Pritchard should have instead seen Brown involved. The officials disagreed and arguments ensued. That fine is more fair than a suspension, which could have been on the table.
The best part of this was Mazzulla’s response when asked about going after the official postgame.
“I hadn’t seen him in a while. So, just a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays… can’t let a moment go by where you don’t wish the best to them and theirs,” Mazzulla said. Well played.
Those calls were also not the reason the Celtics lost the game. At the top of the list is Boston shooting 14-of-56 (25%) from 3 for the night. When a team takes a lot of 3-pointers as the Celtics do, it invites some high-variance games and some bad nights.
