The Los Angeles Lakers decided to commemorate the extensive NBA legacy of Pat Riley by unveiling a statue of him before their game against the Boston Celtics. As part of his speech, Riley made sure to encourage the Lakers to "kick some Boston."
However, with the game going the other direction, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla had a funny reaction when he learned what Riley had actually said.
"Did he really? It's awesome," Mazzulla responded with a smile on his face, clearly pleased with his team's day of work, according to a clip posted on
Joe Mazzulla was upset that he missed telling Pat Riley that he wanted to beat the Celtics:
"that's awesome." pic.twitter.com/hzfBgwPgBw
- Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) 23 February 2026
According to a clip on X by Oh No He Didn't, Riley initially said, "Time to kick some Boston ass."
Pat Riley: "It's time to kick some ass in Boston"
celtics vs lakers tonight hahahahapic.twitter.com/VdjsW50kbL
- Oh no, he didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) 22 February 2026
Of course, it was the Celtics who did this 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 also earned 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% shooting from three, despite the Lakers starting Big 3 of LeBron, Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic.
And while the game was largely one-sided, the outcome brought some historic positives for James. The 41-year-old became the first player in NBA history to surpass 43,000 regular season points in his 1,600th career game.
Still, Luka Doncic top-scored for the Lakers, scoring 25 points and five rebounds, while Reaves finished with 15 points and seven rebounds. Despite this, the Lakers suffered from an overall poor shooting night, going just 66.6% from the free throw line, and they had only themselves to blame for the loss.
