Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla’s priceless reaction to Pat Riley’s ‘kicking some Boston a**’ quote

The Los Angeles Lakers chose to commemorate Pat Riley’s expansive NBA legacy by unveiling his statue before their matchup against the Boston Celtics. As part of his speech, Riley ensured that he gave encouragement to the Lakers to “kick some Boston a**.”

However, with the game going the other way, the Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla had a hilarious reaction when he found out exactly what Riley had said.

“Did he really? That’s awesome,” Mazzulla responded with a grin on his face, clearly happy with his team’s day of work, per a clip on X posted by ClutchPoints’ Daniel Donabedian.

Joe Mazzulla was upset that he missed Pat Riley say he wanted to beat the hell out of the Celtics:

“That’s awesome.” pic.twitter.com/hzfBgwPgBw

— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) February 23, 2026

“The time has come to kick some Boston ass,” Riley had initially said, per a clip on X by Oh No He Didn’t.

Pat Riley: "The time has come to kick some Boston ass"

Celtics vs Lakers tonight lolpic.twitter.com/VdjsW50kbL

— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) February 22, 2026

Of course, it was the Celtics who did the deed instead of the Lakers. The 111-89 victory was defined by a two-man offensive explosion from Jaylen Brown and Payton Pritchard, who combined for 62 points and 16 assists.

Brown, who even earned an MVP endorsement from LeBron James after his performance, returned with 32 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, while Pritchard returned with 30 points on 10-14 shooting with a total of six three-pointers. The Celtics held the Lakers to 39.1% shooting and just 30% from three, which happened despite the Lakers’ Big 3 of LeBron, Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic all starting.

And while the game was heavily lopsided, it did result in some historic positivity for James. The 41-year-old became the first player in NBA history to surpass 43,000 regular-season points in what was his 1600th career game.

Still, it was Luka Doncic who top-scored for the Lakers, producing 25 points and five rebounds, while Reaves finished with 15 points and seven rebounds. Regardless, the Lakers suffered due to an all-around poor shooting night, going just 66.6% from the free throw line, and only have themselves to blame for the loss.

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