Joe Mazzulla’s reaction to Pat Riley’s Boston trash talk

Joe Mazzulla cherished Pat Riley’s trash-talk: The Sunday matchup between the Celtics and Lakers — at all times a conflict of NBA rivals — had an additional cost because of an previous adversary.

Pat Riley, an iconic fixture within the everlasting Boston vs. Los Angeles rivalry, was on-hand for a Lakers statue dedication, and produced some predictably fiery pregame soundbites. Talking on the unveiling of his statue exterior the crew’s enviornment, the longtime Lakers head coach closed his deal with with a line that drew a few of the loudest cheers of the day.

“The time has come to kick some ass, to kick some Boston ass,” he emphatically told the gathered crowd.

Sadly for Riley, nobody advised the present Lakers roster about his message. Los Angeles proceeded to lose to the Celtics 111-89 in a less-than-competitive matchup.

After the sport, nonetheless, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla was thrilled to study Riley’s enduring hatred of Boston. When the quote was referenced by Boston Globe reporter Gary Washburn, an incredulous Mazzulla was noticeably excited.

“He stated that?” Mazzulla replied whereas grinning. “Man I want I might have heard that. That’s enjoyable. That’s superior. Rattling.”

Mazzulla continued to echo the sentiment, repeating that it was “superior” to study Riley’s trash-talking.

Regardless of the pageantry of the matchup and rivalry, Mazzulla nonetheless emphasised the necessity for his crew to not get carried away and too centered on one matchup.

“I believe we have now to discover a method to do it at Phoenix,” he told reporters per MassLive’s Brian Robb. “If it’s a short-term factor, if it’s an extrinsic factor that will get you, it’s going to be very onerous to show that into an intrinsic one 48 hours from now, however I believe having the gratitude and perspective of what a recreation like this implies, and being conscious of your ambiance brings out the very best in folks.”

Trivia: Pat Riley’s last NBA championship as a head coach got here in 2006 with the Warmth. What crew did he beat within the NBA Finals?

(Reply on the backside).

Trace: The opposing head coach was Avery Johnson.

Scores and schedules:

U.S. males’s hockey received gold for the primary time since 1980 after an exciting 2-1 additional time win over Canada within the Olympic last on Sunday. Jack Hughes scored the winner for Staff USA (see under).

The Winter Olympics culminated after a couple of last Sunday occasions (together with males’s hockey) with the closing ceremonies. In all, Staff USA completed with a nationwide document of 12 Winter Olympic golds, and 33 medals total. In fact, there was no stopping Norway (and its nationwide inhabitants of roughly 5.5 million), which cruised to a medal count victory: 18 golds, 41 total medals.

Nearer to house, the Celtics crushed the Lakers within the aforementioned Sunday matchup, 111-89. Boston will face the Suns in Phoenix on Tuesday at 9 p.m.

Extra from Boston.com:

Actual-time information: Whereas holding a Sunday press convention previous to the most important snowstorm heading for Boston, Mayor Michelle Wu discovered stay that Jack Hughes had scored the gold medal-winning objective for Staff USA on the Olympics.

Inside Jayson Tatum’s restoration: The newest signal of a possible return is the primary episode of an NBC collection that includes the Celtics’ star.

On this present day: In 1972, the Bruins rallied from a 6-1 deficit to defeat the California Golden Seals 8-6. Fred Stanfield completed with a hat-trick, whereas Bobby Orr scored a objective and tallied 4 assists. Off the ice, Boston traded for California All-Star defenseman Carol Vadnais in a five-player deal.

Elsewhere, the Celtics defeated the Cavaliers 113-111. In males’s faculty hockey, Boston Faculty staged a 7-5 comeback win in opposition to rival Boston College to provide legendary head coach John Kelley his five hundredth profession win, an unprecedented achievement amongst NCAA Division-I males’s hockey coaches at that time.

Each day spotlight: Jack Hughes scored the golden objective for Staff USA on Sunday, clinching the primary males’s hockey Olympic title since 1980.