“I wish you could bring back fighting.” Earlier this season, Joe Mazzulla shocked everyone when he publicly advocated for physical combat in the NBA. Obviously, he was not promoting an all-out brawl like the infamous Malice at the Palace. Instead, the idea stemmed from ice hockey, where players are legally allowed to throw hands when things get heated.

While the suggestion might never be implemented by Adam Silver, the world saw a small glimpse of it during last night’s Celtics vs Hawks clash as Jayson Tatum and Onyeka Okongwu got into a physical altercation, leading to a bizarre reaction by Mazzulla and a public call out for the game officials.

The incident occurred in the opening minutes of overtime. As De’Andre Hunter missed a wide open three, Okongwu stole the rebound from the Cs to gain advantage. But Tatum immediately got into a grabbing match with the Hawks forward, leading to a jump ball call by the referee. However, the two stars did not let go even after the whistle blew and continued fighting for possession, even pushing each other in the process. Before the situation escalated, officials and teammates stepped in to separate Okongwu and Tatum. Meanwhile, it looked like Mazzulla was loving every second of it as he was seen clapping aggressively throughout the tussle.

Addressing the altercation after the game, JT exposed the referee’s shocking mistake, “I give the refs credit like should’ve been a tech, they didn’t call it. They separated us and then we kept playing.” Yes, everyone in the arena, including Tatum, was surprised when no player was called for a technical foul for the physical altercation.

Well, there have been players who have received a tech and even gotten ejected for far less. And a shoving match more often than not leads to serious penalties. But Tatum was happy that the refs understood the intensity of the overtime game and let things run their course without handing out fouls. Moreover, JT revealed his true intentions behind getting into the altercation.

Jayson Tatum makes shocking confession about “Getting Angry” during Hawks game

Apart from praising the refs for their leniency, Tatum also had a hilarious response for why he got into it with Okongwu. “Honestly, I probably did that for you guys. I thought you’d probably like that. Me getting angry and s—.” He told the media. Sure enough, his emotional outburst got the job done as he remarked, “It was fun, like little tussle. I think the fans enjoyed it, got the crowd going.”

Well, this is not the first time the Celtics have used such tactics to energize the crowd and their players. But most of the time, its Mazzulla who takes over that responsibility. Back in November, he got into a heated argument with the refs during the Wizards game. He later remarked, “I think it was just manipulating the environment. I thought it was kind of what the environment needed at the time. You just have to make those calls from time to time… Just noise, chaos, energy, anxiety. A little bit of everything.”

Unfortunately, the strategy did not work last night as the Hawks beat the Celtics by four points despite Tatum firing up the crowd. Maybe, they will have a different approach next time. What are your thoughts?