'Celtics' Joe Mazzulla receives $35K penalty from NBA for behavior toward referee'
The NBA has fined Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla $35,000 for aggressively pursuing and directing inappropriate language towards a game official on Saturday.
During the Celtics' 117-108 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Thursday in Boston, Mazzulla charged the court to express his frustration with official Justin Van Duyne. This outburst occurred after Mazzulla and Celtics forward Jaylen Brown were both given technical fouls in quick succession.
Mazzulla admitted in his postgame press conference that he should not have entered the court.
However, Brown claimed that he received his technical foul after asking Van Duyne for an explanation on why his coach was penalized.
\"I told (Van Duyne), \'You called a tech (on Mazzulla) for no reason.\' He responded, \'If you say it to me again, I\'m going to call another tech,\'\" Brown said. \"You can\'t threaten players with technical fouls, that\'s not a part of the game. If you want to fine players for gestures and such, that's fine. But threatening them with technical fouls is ridiculous.\"
