published by: Vivek Ganapathy
Last update: March 16, 2024, 6:57 p.m. IST
United States of America (USA)
The Boston Celtics beat the Phoenix Suns on Thursday to extend their winning streak and they are currently atop the Eastern Conference standings. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla made an unusual decision in the game that garnered a lot of attention. Celtics star Jaylen Brown intercepted a pass in the fourth quarter and ran the other way for a spectacular slam.
After the whistle for a timeout due to a turnover, Royce O’Neale of the Suns attempted to shoot the ball. Mazzulla was close to O’Neale when he began pacing the floor after Frank Vogel signaled an end to proceedings on the opposite side with three minutes left in Boston’s 127-112 win over the Suns. The whistle was blown, but the Suns forward, who had received an outlet pass, still wanted to shoot.
Mazzulla gained something of a reputation for going viral during his tenure as coach of the Boston Celtics, in which he has yet to complete two full seasons. Mazzulla has many memorable moments, from his unabashed passion for jiu-jitsu to watching the Boston-based heist film The Town four times a week to give himself a “Boston state of mind.” Although the incident with O’Neale might be top of mind. everything else.
“I saw a guy come in to try to shoot, and he couldn’t get one. And I didn’t want him to feel good going to the bench,” Mazzulla said, according to The Athletic.
“[Boston Globe writer] Gary [Washburn] asked me a question about this a month ago, and it’s a rule of thumb. Guys don’t shoot in front of our bench to go back to their bench and feel good about themselves. If I want to ask the guys to compete, the staff must do the same,” he added.
The incident did not go down well with NBA legend Charles Barkley, who said O’Neale could have been injured. “I would have knocked him out. I’m not going to lie. I would have hit him…I’ll tell you why I don’t like it. What if he steps on his ankle and seriously injures himself? He can’t do that. Come on, man,” he said on TNT’s “NBA on TNT,” according to Sportskeeda.
Jaylen Brown was the star of the game, scoring a record 37 points, including five 3-pointers. For the Phoenix Suns, Devin Booker scored 23 points in the game.
