Boston Celtics interim coach Joe Mazzulla missed the game Tuesday night against the Houston Rockets because of eye irritation and was replaced on the bench by assistant Damon Stoudamire.
The team made the announcement about 10 minutes before the opening tipoff. Mazzulla handled his interview on the pregame show but was clearly uncomfortable.
"I found out probably with about 10 on the [pregame] clock. But in a lot of ways that's better,'' said Stoudamire, whose mother was in town from Las Vegas for Christmas and happened to be at the game. "I'm pretty sure I'm going to check my phone and there's going to be a lot of people saying 'Why didn't you tell me?' Well, I didn't know."
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 77 points to lead the Celtics to a 126-102 win over the Rockets, giving Stoudamire a victory in his first game as a head coach.
"It's always a little easier when you've got JT and JB,'' Stoudamire said. "It's not a bad start.''
Mazzulla was elevated to interim coach on the eve of training camp when head coach Ime Udoka was suspended for the full season for inappropriate workplace behavior.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
