As Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla approached the scrum, Van Duyne called a technical foul for the coach being on the floor. Jaylen Brown then also received a technical when he pointed at Van Duyne, telling him that call was unnecessary.
Zach LaVine hit both technical free throws and then followed with a 3-pointer and the Celtics were done. Chicago outplayed the hotheaded Celtics in the final period and won 117-108 Thursday night at TD Garden.
It was a frustrating night for Boston. It tied a team record for 3-point misses with 42, including 14 of 17 in the final period. Tatum was called for a third team technical a few minutes later and after the buzzer sounded, Mazzulla had to be restrained by assistant coach Tony Dobbins from approaching Van Duyne.
Afterwards, a much-calmer Mazzulla joked that he was trying to offer officials Christmas wishes and admitted he was given his tech for stepping on the floor.
“I just can’t be on the court,” Mazzulla said. “The ref had to do his job. I was on the court.”
Brown, who also discussed his emotional state after the attempted burglary of his mother’s home, said he told Van Duyne that he should not have called that tech on Mazzulla.
“Here’s the thing,” Brown said when asked about Van Duyne. “I got fined a couple of weeks ago for an inadvertent gesture [throat slash] that are determined not a part of the game, which was fine. I took the fine. But what part of the game is like a ref calling inadvertent technical fouls and then like, I said to him, ‘You called a tech [for] no reason,’ He said, ‘If you say it to me again, I’m going to call another tech.’”
Brown then responded again with “you called a tech for no reason.” Van Duyne then called a technical on Brown.
“You can’t threaten guys with a technical foul,” Brown said. “That’s not part of the game either. You want to fine people for gestures and all this stuff, [then] fine that. We were down three at that time and that led to us being down eight. That affects the game. That could have been avoided. Joe didn’t say anything to deserve a tech.”
Crew chief Tony Brothers confirmed after the game that Mazzulla received his technical foul for being on the floor while Brown “questioned our integrity multiple times during that same sequence.”
Regardless of the ill feelings toward the officiating, the Celtics were unable to get any offensive traction beyond the arc. They missed several open threes, with Brown, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday going 4 for 24. Boston set its club record for misses Dec. 7 against Memphis, which was its previous loss. Yet, the Celtics led 86-82 after the third quarter before the meltdown.
Dosunmu opened the fourth with a 3-pointer and driving layup, and added two more buckets during a 9-0 run that put the Bulls up 99-90 with just over seven minutes left. Derrick White came back with three free throws and Brown added a corner three to slice the deficit to 99-96. White then got a steal and Tatum had a chance for the tie before the game suddenly spiraled out of control.
The Bulls scored 18 of the next 27 points, and LaVine, who led all scorers with 36 points, scored nine during that run, including a third technical free throw when Tatum was called for his fifth technical of the season.
“It was tough, that segment that Justin [Van Duyne] had kind of changed not the outcome of the game but definitely changed that segment of the game,” Tatum said. “You don’t necessarily love that. You want the players to play and dictate the game, but in 82 games [expletive] happens.”
