Boston’s frustration with officiating spilled into the open as Joe Mazzulla turned one late-game sequence into the entire postgame message.
Joe Mazzulla didn’t raise his voice after Monday night’s loss in Indiana (9-31).
He didn’t pace. He didn’t vent. He didn’t even elaborate.
He repeated two words - over and over - making a statement louder than any rant.
“Illegal screen.”
That was Mazzulla’s answer to all six questions after Boston’s 98-96 loss.
Forty-four seconds, six questions, same response. Not defiant, not sarcastic. Just matter of fact.
It was impossible to miss the point.
The Celtics’ coach didn’t analyze rotations or missed shots. He flagged the decisive play - and, more broadly, Boston’s feelings on recent officiating.
The decisive sequence started with the score tied at 96 with under 30 seconds left. Indiana ran down the clock. Andrew Nembhard started at the top, Pascal Siakam set the screen. Derrick White switched onto him, then came Mazzulla’s focus.
As Nembhard used the screen, Siakam appeared to extend his backside, creating just enough separation to free himself. White was momentarily displaced. Siakam spun, rose from the free-throw line, and banked in what became the game-winner with 6.1 seconds left.
The Celtics never got another clean look. White’s desperation three at the buzzer missed.
Game over.
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From Boston’s perspective, the intent was clear. Screens like that - stationary, then not - are the very actions officials are trained to call, especially in late moments. Whether the league will agree depends on Tuesday’s Last Two Minute Report. Still, Mazzulla’s approach ensured the issue stayed in the spotlight.
Context matters here.
Two days earlier, Jaylen Brown’s public outburst over officiating after losing to San Antonio (27-12) cost him $35,000. Brown was raw and explicit. Mazzulla chose a different path - brief but powerful, avoiding discipline, sending a message.
And the timing was deliberate.
Boston didn’t lose this game because of one call. They shot 9 for 35 from three. They also played without Brown who was out with back spasms. Additionally, they spent much of the night climbing back after Indiana’s 20-4 third quarter run. Yet despite all that, they were in a position to win late. Again.
That’s the through line of this stretch.
Thin margins. Close games. Late possessions deciding outcomes. And when those possessions tilt on contact, screens, and whistles, the frustration compounds.
Mazzulla knows the officials aren’t changing overnight. But he also knows silence guarantees nothing does. By reducing his postgame availability to two pointed words, he reframed the narrative without escalating it.
No fine. No rant. Just repetition.
Boston (24-15) now heads to Miami (20-19) having lost three of four, all by inches rather than miles. The Celtics aren’t unraveling. They’re grinding. But when those grinds keep ending the same way, coaches look for leverage wherever they can find it.
On Monday night, Mazzulla found his.
Not in volume.
In repetition.
May 25, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla looks on during the second quarter of game three of the eastern conference finals against the Indiana Pacers in the 2024 NBA playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. (Trevor Ruszkowski/Imagn Images)JOIN THE CONVERSATION:
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Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.