The Boston Celtics were thoroughly drubbed by the Atlanta Hawks in TD Garden tonight, losing 117-106 to an all-around offense that saw six players score double digits. The matchup was heated throughout, with one key moment in the third quarter involving Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla standing out.

With about 2:13 left on the clock in the third, Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu went up and grabbed an offensive rebound in front of the Celtics’ bench, seemingly pushing guard Baylor Scheierman and forward Jordan Walsh in the process, before earning a foul on his shot attempt. Mazzulla immediately protested to the referee standing on the baseline, stepping onto the court and standing in front of him, before being assessed a technical foul.

Things quickly escalated, with assistant coach and former NBA champion Sam Cassell holding Mazzulla back as he continued to argue with the refs. Mazzulla got so heated that he seemingly pushed Cassell aside, towards the seats, before the assistant caught back up and continued to pull him back.

In the aftermath, the Boston crowd was seemingly as heated as their head coach, with chants of “Refs, you suck” filling the arena. The cheering only got louder when Luke Kennard missed the technical free throw, but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to light a fire under the Celtics, who went on to lose the game.

Mazzulla is known as one of the most outspoken coaches in the league and isn’t afraid to let referees and opposing players hear his frustrations. Back in November, Mazzulla earned a technical for complaining about no-calls for the Celtics, but in the postgame, he just admitted that it “wasn’t our night.”

Joe Mazzulla Explains Rare Technical as Intentional Message for Boston Celtics

After the game, reporters zeroed in on the moment of the technical, noting to Joe Mazzulla how rarely he picks up technical fouls, which made tonight’s stand out immediately and raised the question of whether it was a more calculated moment rather than just an emotional reaction. Mazulla was clear in his explanation.

“It was a little bit of both,” the Celtics coach said. “Usually, you don’t see the exact same situation happen within seconds, and the exact same situation happened, and it was handled differently.”

That inconsistency was seemingly the breaking point for Mazzulla, for whom the immediacy of the no-calls throughout the game became impossible to ignore as the Celtics continued to get pummelled. Mazulla also leaned into the motivational angle, framing the whistle as a message sent both to the refs and his own bench:

“I think it was a little bit to get [my] point across, a little bit to try and spark the team.”

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This matchup took place just 11 days after their previous game, and it was almost the exact opposite of what happened last time. The Hawks, who were blown out at home back then, came out blazing, shooting 18-42 from three, and had all five starters finish in double digits.

They cruised to the win, despite losing Okongwu late after a hard shoulder to the mouth from Jaylen Brown.