Celtics' Joe Mazzulla sounds off on scuffle involving Jayson Tatum vs. Hawks

01/19/2025 10:38 AM

The Boston Celtics ran in to one of their least favorite teams on Sunday night as they suffered another loss against the Atlanta Hawks, this time in a 119-115 overtime loss in front of the home crowd at TD Garden. This is an other puzzling result in a long line of them between the Hawks and the Celtics in recent years, as Trae Young and company seem to have the Celtics’ number to a degree.

During the overtime, Celtics star Jayson Tatum and hawks big man Onyeka Okongwu got into it while fighting for a rebound and the two teams came together in a minor scuffle. Nothing came of the situation except for a jump ball, and the Hawks continued to march towards an upset victory.

After the game, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla gave his thoughts on the scuffle.

Joe Mazzulla on the OT scuffle:

"It's just competitive nature. It's a fight. I think that stuff's important, and you need to show a level of spirit. And we did that. So that was great. You gotta feed off that and it's a representation of the Celtics and the mindset that we're… pic.twitter.com/OUBKE9jZxw

— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) January 19, 2025

“It’s just competitive nature. It’s a fight,” Mazzulla said. “I think that stuff’s important, and you need to show a level of spirit. And we did that. So that was great. You gotta feed off that and it’s a representation of the Celtics and the mindset that we’re trying to have. So I thought it was great.”

The fight was a part of a subpar day for Tatum, who struggled with his shot all night long. He finished the game just 7-for-21 overall and 2-for-9 from 3-point range with 23 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. The Celtics were led by Jaylen Brown with 24 points, even though he also struggled to be efficient in the loss.

Okongwu had an excellent day for the Hawks both before and after the scuffle. Despite coming off the bench, the former USC star scored 19 points and collected 13 rebounds in 32 minutes to help lead his team to a win. Young had another stellar day in Boston, like he usually does, with 28 points and 11 assists.

There is no reason for the Celtics to panic after this loss, as it just drops them to 29-13 overall on the season. Even though the Celtics are struggling a little bit more than usual as of late, they are still in second place in the Eastern Conference and are clearly one of the best teams in the NBA.

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