For three quarters, Jaylen Brown had his way with the Magic defense at the Kia Center in Orlando. The All-Star helped the Celtics erase a 16-point deficit by erupting for 30 points through the first three quarters of the game. Once he got off the bench in the fourth quarter with just over nine minutes remaining, he had a chance to lead Boston to the win.
However, Brown’s offense dried up late. He scored just two points in the final frame after going 1-of-5 from the field in the period in a 123-110 loss to the Magic on Friday night.
Brown was asked about his late-game struggles after finishing with a game-high 32 points and brought up a cryptic point about the officiating
“I think in the fourth quarter, I think the officials made their point,” Brown told reporters in Orlando. “I get it. I’ll keep my mouth closed.”
When asked to clarify what he meant, Brown doubled down on his previous remark.
“I get it,” Brown said. “I’ll keep my mouth closed.”
Brown has been very critical of officiating in the past week. He dodged a fine after ripping officials for a missed foul call in the final minute of a Celtics loss to the Jazz on Monday night.
“Man, y’all going to get me fined because you can’t have a mistake like that as an official at that point in the game,” he said. “It’s fourth quarter. There’s a minute left in the game or less. And you completely — the whole staff blows the (expletive) call, you know what I mean? It cost us the game. Unacceptable.
“You can make mistakes at any point of the game, but right there, that wasn’t good. That wasn’t good. That was unacceptable. And then they’re telling me like, ‘Aw, we didn’t see it.’ How did none of you see it? You can’t trip somebody in the fourth quarter and then just be a no call. It’s some (expletive).”
Beyond bringing up the officiating on Friday night, Brown also pointed the finger at himself a bit for failing to score much for Boston late as Orlando outscored the visitors 39-30 in the final frame.
“You have to pick and choose your spots,” Brown said. “In the fourth quarter, I missed some good looks where I could’ve gotten my feet set a little more and then it compounded and turned into some turnovers and they scored. For our team, they probably need me to make those shots. So, I’m human. If I shoot a shot, I felt good about it, I feel good. But, I got to be a little better I guess.”
Despite his late-game woes, Brown has been Boston’s best player by far through 10 games, averaging 28.1 points per game and shooting a career-high 53 percent from the field. He’ll have a chance to make amends in a rematch against Orlando on Sunday night.
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