Joe Mazzulla didn't seem bothered by Pat Riley's trash talk after the Boston Celtics got the last laugh over the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers honored the former head coach with a statue outside Crypto.com Arena before Sunday's game against the Celtics. During his speech, Riley encouraged the Lakers to beat his longtime rival.
"The time has come to kick some a**,” Riley said. “To kick some Boston a**."
Riley didn't get his wish, as the Celtics stayed hot with a 111-89 win. But Lakers fans shouldn't blame Riley for motivating their opponent, as Mazzulla wasn't aware of the legend's comments until a reporter mentioned them after the game.
"He said that?" Mazzulla asked, per CLNS Media. "Oh man, I wish I would have heard that. That’s fun. That’s awesome."
An amused Mazzulla appreciated the "good stuff" from Riley, who led the Lakers to two NBA Finals wins over the Celtics in 1985 and 1987. Mazzulla may not have changed anything if he heard Riley's line before tipoff, as he didn't want to lean too hard into hyping up his players about a storied feud.
“No, I don’t,” Mazzulla said. “Because I think we have to find a way to do it at Phoenix. If it’s a short-term thing, if it’s an extrinsic thing that gets you, it’s going to be very hard to turn that into an intrinsic one 48 hours from now, but I think having the gratitude and perspective of what a game like this means, and being aware of your atmosphere brings out the best in people.”
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