Joe Mazzulla is going to have to dig some money out of his couch cushions.
The NBA announced on Saturday that they are fining the Boston Celtics head coach Mazzulla $35,000 for “aggressively pursuing and directing inappropriate language” towards a referee. The incident occurred after the final buzzer of the Celtics’ 1171-108 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Thursday.
Upon the conclusion of the game, Mazzulla was seen yelling and angrily pointing at referee Justin Van Duyne and had to be restrained by his Celtics assistants. Van Duyne had given Mazzulla a technical foul during the fourth quarter for arguing a bad call and also subsequently gave a T to Boston star Jaylen Brown for a separate incident.
Joe Mazzulla was heated at a ref at the end of the Celtics game pic.twitter.com/HGEb7SBCnV
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) December 20, 2024
Speaking with reporters after the contest, Mazzulla joked that he was simply telling Van Duyne, “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays.”
Joe Mazzulla explains why he was trying to get to the referee after the game:
“Just trying to wish them a Merry Christmas, happy holidays”
— Savage (@SavageSports_) December 20, 2024
The NBA clearly was not convinced though, and now Mazzulla will have to cut a $35,000 check to them. The 36-year-old is already known as one of the more bizarrely confrontational coaches in the league, and this time around, it was Van Duyne who was the target of his ire.
