BOSTON — Joe Mazzulla can sometimes run hot on the sideline and his emotions were on the verge of boiling over when the Boston Celtics faced the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night at TD Garden.
And it took Raptors forward Chris Boucher bumping Mazzulla to get the Celtics head coach to that point.
The heated interaction occurred in the second quarter following a timeout with Mazzulla walking onto the floor to high-five several players. As Boucher walked past to go toward Toronto’s bench, he knocked into Mazzulla and it sure caught Mazzulla’s attention.
Mazzulla looked at Boucher and seemed to have words for him. Mazzulla also wanted to head in the direction of the sixth-year pro, but was held back by Celtics big man Robert Williams. Following Boston’s 97-93 win, Mazzulla downplayed the confrontation he had with Boucher.
“It wasn’t irritating,” Mazzulla said. “I got bumped, so I was just trying to figure out what happened. Got to be better aware of my surroundings.”
Mazzulla’s feistiness has been on display at times during his first year at the helm of the Celtics. He was ejected during an early-season matchup with the Bulls, and hasn’t been afraid to get snippy with the media during his postgame press conferences.
Mazzulla certainly will be in the spotlight once the postseason begins and he’ll have to keep his composure with the intensity and the pressure ramping up tenfold in the playoffs.
