Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was not happy with the officiating in Monday’s 98-96 loss to the Indiana Pacers, and he spent his entire postgame press conference making that clear.
Mazzulla was unhappy that, in his mind, Pacers forward Pascal Siakam got away with an illegal screen just before hitting the game-winning shot at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. As such, the Celtics coach answered every postgame question, no matter what it was, by simply responding with “illegal screen.”
Joe Mazzulla had two words for his postgame presser in the Celtics 98-96 loss to the Pacers:
— Alex Golden (@AlexGoldenNBA) January 13, 2026
“Illegal screen” pic.twitter.com/cMoZ5ldpqJ
Video showed that Mazzulla seemingly had a point, as Siakam pretty clearly shifted his weight into Derrick White to take the Celtics guard out of the play and set up the winning bucket.
Joe Mazzulla had the same answer to every postgame question tonight: "Illegal screen."
— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) January 13, 2026
Here's what unfolded right before Pascal Siakam made his game-winner: pic.twitter.com/Nhf9WBS1wA
Of course, by this point, it was far too late for anyone to do anything about the potential missed call. Mazzulla had to resort to essentially protesting during his press conference. Whether that gets him fined remains to be seen, since he did not explicitly criticize the officiating, although the context is pretty clear.
While Mazzulla may have a point, the Celtics also let the 9-31 Pacers hang around in a game that probably should not have even come down to the final play. That won’t make them feel any less aggrieved, however.
The Celtics being unhappy with how their games are being officiated has been a running theme lately, with this just the latest example.
