The celebration of the Celtics' 18th title was sealed with a kiss and other leftover nuggets

Some leftover thoughts, notes and observations from the Celtics' 132-109 win over the Knicks on ring and banner night at TD Garden…

▪ Coach Joe Mazzulla stole the show during the ring ceremony when he walked to the foul line, leaned down and kissed the green-coated floor.

“I just thought this would be a moment, a way for me to just express myself,” he said. “The blood, sweat and tears of the greats flow on this floor. I can't go out and jump for balls on the floor like I would like to, or do any of that, so this was a way to just express the passion and gratitude that I have for our team. for the people who came before and for what it means to be a Celt.”

Guard Derrick White was initially confused when he saw his coach fall to the ground.

“I thought he was doing push-ups,” White said, smiling. “I didn’t know what he was going to do. He said he had to kiss the floor, which I respect.”

▪ Coaches often say they are indifferent to other teams' movements and focus solely on their own teams. But Mazzulla admitted he noticed it when the Knicks acquired Mikal Bridges from the Nets last summer. He even remembered the exact date.

“I just looked and said, 'They got better,'” Mazzulla said. “It’s the fine balance. I believe the trade occurred on June 28th. When you see that, you think, “Damn, your enemy is doing better.” What are you going to do about it?

“So they made trades to get better and we believe in the squad we have. And it’s about us internally finding ways to get better every day.”

Of course, the Knicks weren't done yet. They completed a blockbuster earlier this month by acquiring four-time All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns from the Timberwolves. New York has filled its roster with ground players and versatile defenders, and that should sound familiar to the Celtics.

“Whenever a team wins the championship, everyone analyzes how they did it, what their personnel was like, what their plan was and everything,” Knicks guard Jalen Brunson said. “And so I don’t want to speak for the rest of the league, but a lot of people saw how successful they were with their offense, their five-outs, their schemes, whatever. And so it may not be a copy, but every time someone wins like that, everyone is going to kind of want to get used to the new way of basketball.”

▪ If Banner 18 appeared a little wrinkled when pulled up to the rafters, there is no reason to worry. There are poles attached to the bottom of each banner to provide additional weight and help keep them taut. However, due to all the excitement during the ceremony, this pole was not in place when the banner was first hung from the ceiling.

Later, when the floor is emptier and there are no longer 15 basketball players directly underneath, the banner is lowered, the pole is inserted and it takes its permanent place at the top, ideally with minimal creases.

▪ The Celtics were primed for their rings after winning the championship, but the timing got a little complicated for Al Horford. The big man said he dislocated his ring finger in the playoffs last season, so his finger was still quite swollen at the time it was measured.

“I made it a lot bigger than it should be,” Horford said. “So right now I can't even wear it because my finger is swollen and it's just huge. So I kept talking to (Kristaps Porzingis) and the guys and I was like, 'Man, this thing is just huge.' That's pretty cool.' But I kept thinking about the size of the ring and the details on it. They really did a great job.”

▪ After the game, most players talked about what their championship rings mean to them. Jaylen Brown's explanation was probably the most eloquent.

“I mean, this ring is just an object, right?” he said. “But it’s everything – the emotions, the heartache, the embarrassment, the work, the drive, the dedication. That’s exactly what this ring represents.”

▪ The Celtics will not stop by the White House during their trip to Washington for Thursday's game against the Wizards. It remains highly likely they will have their visit before next month's game, but plans have yet to be finalized.

▪ Celtics forward Sam Hauser is questionable for the game in Washington because of lower back pain.

Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.