Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was fined $35,000 by the league for "aggressively pursuing and directing inappropriate language toward a game official," after Boston's 117-108 loss to the Chicago Bulls Thursday night.

The NBA announced on Saturday that Mazzulla was fined $35,000 for "aggressively pursuing and directing inappropriate language toward a game official" after the Celtics lost 108-117 to the Chicago Bulls. Once the buzzer sounded, Mazzulla went straight to the ref and could be seen yelling and pointing in anger.

Joe Mazzulla's Christmas greetings were costly. The NBA fined the Boston Celtics coach $35,000 on Saturday "for aggressively pursuing and directing inappropriate language toward a game official" at the end of his team's loss to the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night.

Joe Mazzulla was fined $35,000 for “aggressively pursuing and directing inappropriate language toward a game official” after Thursday’s Celtics loss.

Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was fined $35,000 by the NBA on Saturday "for aggressively pursuing and directing inappropriate

Mazzulla was called for a technical foul after approaching the officials to argue over a call. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum were also called for techs in the waning minutes of Thursday's loss.

Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla shrugged off a tense interaction with a ref after their loss to Chicago on Thursday, claiming he was simply wishing the official a "Merry Christmas."

Both Joe Mazzulla and Jaylen Brown were furious with the officiating in Thursday night's Boston Celtics loss to the Chicago Bulls

Joe Mazzulla received a technical foul for stepping onto the court and questioning a game official during a jump-ball decision as the Boston Celtics faced the Chicago Bulls. Both Payton Pritchard and Jaylen Brown had gone for the ball on the floor,

Celtics forward Jaylen Brown took issue with back-to-back technical fouls called on coach Joe Mazzulla and himself late in the fourth quarter of Boston’s 117-108 loss to the Chicago Bulls.

It would be easy enough for backup Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard to get caught up in all of the fuss about the the University of Oregon alum being one of the NBA's top Sixth Man of the Year candidates so far this season given he was fighting so hard for minutes not all that long ago that he pushed to be traded to another ball club.