NBA fines Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla $35,000 for postgame comments toward officials
Joe Mazzulla’s Christmas greetings were costly
By AP News
Published - Dec 21, 2024, 12:41 PM ET
Last Updated - Dec 21, 2024, 12:41 PM EST
NEW YORK (AP) — Joe Mazzulla's Christmas greetings were costly.
The NBA fined the Boston Celtics coach $35,000 on Saturday “for aggressively pursuing and directing inappropriate language toward a game official” at the end of his team's loss to the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night.
Mazzulla's outburst followed Boston getting whistled for three technical fouls — he got one, Jaylen Brown got one and Jayson Tatum got one — in the fourth quarter of that 117-108 loss. When time expired, Mazzulla appeared to have some angry words for referee Justin Van Duyne.
Mazzulla later said he was just trying to spread holiday cheer to the referee crew.