Jimmy Butler's history with Celtics HC Joe Mazzulla dates back to college

Despite playing in team-high 36 minutes during the Big East tournament second-round tilt, Butler (then a junior) produced a meager nine points to go with two rebounds and two assists on 2-for-5 shooting. NBA veteran and former Big East Player of the Year Jae Crowder (a freshman at the time) came off the bench that game for Butler's Golden Eagles and had four points and a game-high nine rebounds and three steals.

As a senior, Mazzulla tied for a game-high with 40 minutes played that day and scored eight points with a game-best five assists. Despite holding a seven-point halftime lead, Mazzulla's Mountaineers saw Butler and company outscore West Virginia 38-25 after intermission to take a 67-61 victory.

After losing to Louisville in the Big East quarterfinals, Marquette entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 11 seed and upset both No. 6 Xavier and No. 3 Syracuse, before falling to No. 2 North Carolina in the Sweet 16.

Mazzulla and the Mountaineers earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament and after beating No. 12 Clemson in their first game, they lost to No. 4 Kentucky in the round of 32. In his final college game, Mazzulla scored a team-high 20 points.

Since their college careers ended, Butler has racked up six All-Star nods and has earned five All-Defensive honors.

Mazzulla held numerous assistant coaching jobs in the college game -- plus a gig with the Celtics' G League affiliate (the Maine Red Claws) -- before joining Boston as an assistant in 2019. The 34-year-old was appointed as the Celtics' interim leader after Ime Udoka's suspension was handed down and he was named the full-time leader and given a contract extension in February.

Butler's Heat will try to close out Mazzulla's Celtics in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday night.