Celtics, Suns reactions to Joe Mazzulla's viral block attempt: 'I'm not sure I've ever seen that'

The incident occurred when the Suns called a timeout with less than three minutes left in the fourth quarter. O'Neale, who was 0 for 7 from the field, tried to attempt a three before heading to the bench — a customary practice when a player hears the timeout whistle. However, Mazzulla decided to block his shot, causing the Arizona Family Sports broadcast team to react in shock.

"You've got a head coach who stepped on the floor trying to block a player? I'm not sure I've ever seen that," said Suns announcer Kevin Ray.

After the game, Mazzulla said he didn't want O'Neale to flip the script on his cold shooting night. 

"I saw a guy trying to make a shot when he hadn't made one. I didn't want him feeling good about himself going to the bench," Mazzulla told reporters.

Celtics stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum were not shocked to see their coach playing mind games.

"That sounds like Joe Mazzulla. He'll take it as far as he needs to," Brown said after the game.

Elsewhere, the "Inside the NBA" crew on TNT cautioned Mazzulla against getting on the bad side of a player with his courageous tactics.

"Somebody should have knocked the hell out of him," Charles Barkley joked. "Stop that, man. That's like a fan coming out of the stands."

The local Celtics broadcast team, however, gave props to Mazzulla for taking the stance he did.

Celtics beat reporter Chris Forsberg referred to Mazzulla as "a maniac" but "in the best possible way." 

Mazzulla, in his second year as Celtics' head coach, is one of the favorites to be named the NBA's Coach of the Year. OKC coach Mark Daigneault and Timberwolves coach Chris Finch are also in the running for the award.