Celtics star Jaylen Brown is not happy with NBA officiating following Monday night’s 105-103 loss to the Jazz, a matchup that came down to the final minute and a no-call going against Boston.
Brown turned the ball over near the top of the key after Utah’s Keyonte George fell to the floor on defense, causing the Celtics’ top scorer to stumble over him and lose the ball. Walter Clayton Jr. grabbed the steal and sped down court leading to an alley-oop transition dunk from Lauri Markkanen that gave the Jazz a 103-102 lead with 44 seconds to play.
“You can’t have a mistake like that as an official at that point in the game,” Brown said, via ESPN. “It’s fourth quarter, it’s a minute left in the game or less, and you completely — the whole staff blows the f—ing call, you know what I mean? Cost us the game. Unacceptable.”
Officiating crew chief Kevin Scott defended the no-call during a post-game pool report.
“During live play, the crew observed George slip and fall just prior to Brown slipping on the same spot, resulting in the ball becoming loose prior to any contact,” Scott said.
Utah erased a 10-point deficit in the second half and overcame Brown’s 36 points to win thanks to Jusuf Nurkic‘s putback with 0.6 seconds left. After the Jazz took the lead on Markkanen’s dunk, Boston tied the score at 103 on its next possession following a free throw from Neemis Queta.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said after the game he was not given an explanation on the no-call.
Brown scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, but missed all nine of his 3-point attempts for the game as the Celtics dropped to 3-5 overall. Utah snapped a three-game losing streak with the victory.
“You have to be able to put a full game together, the first half was good and the third quarter cost us and when it’s a close game like that, it’s anybody’s game,” Mazzulla said.
The Celtics have given up several hefty scoring runs this season, leading to their disappointing start. Mazzulla said his team must learn to overcome — and avoid — these stretches to improve.
“It’s transition defense and keeping them off the free-throw line,” Mazzula said. “They got into the bonus early. When you get in the bonus early, it’s tough to bounce back from that. It’s transition defense. It’s offensive rebounding. And it’s defending without fouling.”
