Mazzulla ‘smiled, hugged, and laughed off’ ejection with Tatum originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
A coach is expected to be upset when their star player is ejected from a close game against a conference rival, but that was not the case for Boston Celtics’ head coach Joe Mazzulla.
With just seconds remaining in the third quarter of a one point game, Jayson Tatum was ejected after receiving his second technical foul of the night, both coming after arguing with the refs about calls. Thankfully, the Celtics were still able to pull off the 125-119 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, remaining undefeated at home on the year.
Mazzulla was asked about his thoughts on his star player’s ejection following the win, and his response was surprising, to say the least.
“I smiled, gave him a hug, laughed it off,” Mazzulla said of his first interaction with Tatum after the win.
While most coaches may be disappointed in a player’s lack of discipline, leaving a team short-handed, Mazzulla was thrilled to see Tatum’s fire.
“I actually liked that,” Mazzulla added. “I think some of that [fire] is important. Obviously, you don’t want it to get to the point where it gets in the way of winning, but I think that type of passion, and caring about it — I’ll err on the side of I’d rather see that than nothing at all, you know? Sometimes you pick and choose your spots, but I’m not going to say anything [negative] to him.”
Tatum exited the game with 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting, additionally logging seven rebounds, 4 assists, a steal, and a block. In a game that tied for his third-worst in his career, Tatum was also responsible for seven turnovers.
The seventh-year superstar continues to play a crucial part in the Celtics’ early success, averaging 27.4 points on 49.9 percent shooting, 8.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.
Now on top of the NBA’s standings with a 15-4 record, the Celtics resume action on Monday, Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m. ET against the Indiana Pacers in the In-Season Tournament quarterfinals, a team they have already blown out earlier in the year.
