Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla has received his punishment for his outburst during his team’s 117-108 loss against the Chicago Bulls on Thursday.
He was fined $35,000 by the league for what it called “aggressively pursuing and directing inappropriate language toward a game official.” The news prompted a reaction from fans on social media with one fan jokingly claiming he knew what Mazzulla said to the official.
“All he said was happy holidays he told me,” a fan tweeted.
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Others had similar hilarious responses to the report.
“They won’t let us say Merry Christmas anymore. Smh,” one fan tweeted.
“damnn for wishing em happy holidays is wild,” another fan said.
“All he said was happy holidays he told me,” another fan commented.
Others turned their attention to the league. The league has seen a drop in ratings and fans claimed this latest punishment for the championship-winning coach is one of the reasons for it.
“This why ratings are down!,” a fan tweeted.
“NBA is unwatchable nowadays,” another fan commented.
Mazzulla and Jaylen Brown were both accessed technicals. After the game, Mazzulla had to be retrained by his assistant coaches while he argued with game officials.
Furthermore, the game’s pool report gave the reason why he received the technical. He received it not because of what he said but because he was out of his box and on the floor.
The loss against the Bulls snapped the Celtics’ two-game winning streak. Jayson Tatum finished with 31 points, 10 rebounds and four assists while Bulls guard Zach LaVine had a game-high 36 points with six rebounds and four assists.
What’s next for Joe Mazzulla and the Boston Celtics?
Joe Mazzulla’s fine was announced just hours before the Boston Celtics face the Chicago Bulls again on Saturday at United Center. The defending champions will hope to put the ugly end to the previous game behind them as they attempt to go back to their winning ways.
Tipoff is scheduled at 8:00 p.m. ET. Fans can catch the game on TV on NBC Sports Boston and the Chicago Sports Network.
Fans can also live stream on NBA League Pass and FuboTV, which are paid subscriptions.
