On the Celtics’ departure, Ime Udoka muses, “Job not finished.”

Boston — Before coaching his first game in Boston following his two-year suspension for breaking team rules and eventual firing as head coach of the Boston Celtics, Ime Udoka stated that he never completed the work he was paid to do and that he let the people he was working with down.

When asked how he felt about that season and his subsequent dismissal, Udoka responded, “Job not finished,” before the Celtics defeated Udoka’s Houston Rockets 145-113 here at TD Garden on Saturday night. “The individuals you influence and the connections you make. That would therefore be the most important consideration.

“Within a year, I made a lot of friends, and it goes without saying that I would like the opportunity to run it again with a group you feel you can develop and grow with. Hence, disappointing the people. I discussed the athletes, the bonds I forged with them, the coaches I traveled with, and then everyone else who was touched by it.

“Letting some people down is, in my opinion, the biggest thing I would say overall. However, we’ve discussed it and moved past it since I saw a lot of these folks over the summer and we communicate frequently.”

In response to a question about whether he was relieved that the game was finished, Udoka remarked, “It kind of didn’t matter to me at all.” In his one and only season with Boston, he oversaw an incredible comeback. After starting the 2021–22 season with a 23–24 record through the end of January, the Celtics put together a scorching 28–7 run to close the regular season. With series wins over the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, and Miami Heat, they advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010.

When Boston lost Game 6 of the 2022 NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors and witnessed Stephen Curry and company celebrate their fourth title on the TD Garden parquet, it was the final game Udoka coached for the team in this building. However, although it seemed to be the start of a lengthy partnership, Udoka was actually suspended for the 2022–2023 season. In February of last year, Joe Mazzulla, who had been promoted to interim coach after serving on Udoka’s staff the previous season, formally took Udoka’s position.