The Boston Celtics got embarrassed on their home floor on Wednesday as the Atlanta Hawks ran away with the victory, 117-106, in a tension-filled contest at TD Garden.
The Celtics started flat and got outscored by the Hawks in the first quarter, 38-18. They tried to rally, but Atlanta held on to notch its fourth straight win and improve to 24-25. Boston, on the other hand, fell to 29-18.
It is safe to presume that coach Joe Mazzulla was not happy with the officiating. In the third quarter, he wanted to charge at the referees for what he deemed was a wrong call. Mazzulla, who was visibly incensed, had to be held back by assistant coach Sam Cassell.
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla nearly took out Sam Cassell while arguing a call with the refs 😅pic.twitter.com/lvN8BBYZBg
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 29, 2026
Maybe the 37-year-old Mazzulla simply wanted to light a fire under his players. Unfortunately, it did not work.
Fans had varied reactions to Mazzulla's meltdown.
“It is not right to get angry. It spoils the atmosphere. So remain calm,” said @mariyame328.
“Bro, Mazzulla is lucky that Sam did not retaliate,” added @Knicksanityyy
“What are they even doing?” asked @Quazeem0do.
@exlaws24 had the perfect meme to sum it all up.
Camera guy and the announce be like pic.twitter.com/Fr9QcZWV8v
— RedLien (@exlaws24) January 29, 2026
“Is Joe Mazulla hiding a body in his garage?” joked @DrPatMyaz.
“Why, because his team was getting smacked?” posted @kingjesus17.
The Celtics were led by Jaylen Brown, who tallied 21 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, and Anfernee Simons all scored 12 points apiece.
Boston shot itself in the foot with 16 turnovers, which Atlanta converted into 23 points.
The Celtics will return to action on Friday versus the Sacramento Kings.
