BOSTON — It’s one thing if Kevin Durant or Stephen Curry is lighting you up and rubbing it in your face afterward. It’s quite another if Zaza Pachulia is doing the same.
Yes, the latter actually happened at TD Garden on Friday night.
In the middle of the Golden State Warriors’ huge run against the Boston Celtics in the third quarter, Pachulia hit a pretty standard midrange shot. Then, the Warriors big man did this:
We’re not sure what Pachulia was thinking here, but it deserves another look.
Pachulia’s celebration added insult to injury for the Celtics, who were outscored 31-9 in the third quarter en route to a 104-88 loss. Boston rookie Jaylen Brown, for one, didn’t find the whole thing very amusing.
“Yeah, I felt it was a little disrespectful,” Brown said. “Like when Zaza was doing what he was doing? Yeah, I didn’t think that was too cool.
“But hey, man, they won the game at the end of the day, and next time we’ve got to come out and punch them in the mouth. Like not (literally) — figuratively.”
The Celtics will have to wait until March 8 for their rematch with Golden State. Until then, we’ll be left to decipher what compelled Pachulia to spontaneously ride an imaginary pony on the Garden parquet.
“It’s an inside joke,” Pachulia explained. “(Durant) did it last game, so just made fun of him. … No disrespect to the opposing team.”
Pachulia admitted he saw a video of his dance after the game and concluded, “It was pretty bad.” His teammates seemed to agree.
Thumbnail photo via Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports Images
