Jaylen Brown aired out his frustrations with officiating after the Celtics lost to the Spurs, 100-95.
Jaylen Brown aired out his frustrations with officiating after the Celtics lost to the Spurs, 100-95.Barry Chin/Globe Staff
Derrick White walked to the podium after the Celtics’ 100-95 loss to the San Antonio Spurs with a swollen lip, so inflamed that it impacted how he spoke and the redness from previous bleeding was glaring.
When asked what happened, White said: “It’s just the usual, get hit in the mouth, it started bleeding. Fat lip.”
Then when asked whether a foul was called on that play, he quipped: “Yeah. You’re trying to get me in trouble.”
White wanted no part of a fine but it was obvious he had a problem with the officiating. The Spurs attempted 20 free throws. The Celtics attempted four, their fewest since April 2024. The Spurs won by 5 points. The Celtics made six more 3-pointers and committed two fewer turnovers.
They played well enough to win until botching some possessions in the final minutes, but they’re beginning to feel like winning against quality teams shouldn’t be this difficult because they are a quality team also.
And while White won’t get any early-morning texts from the league demanding immediate payment for criticizing officiating, the NBA will certainly summon Jaylen Brown, who wanted all the smoke and all the fines after he went nearly 44 minutes without a free throw.
By comparison, even former Celtic Luke Kornet had two attempts.
Brown has been unsatisfied with how he’s been officiated all season, and Saturday he said the league’s officials aren’t giving the Celtics any grace on calls. For a team that’s second in the Eastern Conference, he’s fed up with the disrespect.
At first, he addressed the game and then the key turnover he committed with the Celtics down 2 points with 47 seconds left.
“I thought it was a good game,” he said. “I thought we did what we needed to do. At the end, we just had a few possessions that got away from us. At the end I should have held the ball and got some space and had a costly turnover. And I had an open look at the end that I gotta knock down but I thought we played good for the most part.”
Then Brown was asked about the Spurs defense, which is exceptional, especially when generational talent Victor Wembanyama is on the floor. He could no longer disguise his anger.
“They went zone, they tried to throw a different look at us,” he said. “It was definitely unique trying to protect some of their guys because they didn’t want to go man (defense). They didn’t feel like they could guard us.”
And then he got to the crux of his issue.
“I feel like honestly they just got away with a lot,” he said. “Like I’m tired of the inconsistency. I’ll accept the fine at this point. I thought it was some (expletive) tonight. I think they’re a good defensive team but they ain’t that damn good. I hope somebody can just pull up the clips. Because it’s the same (expletive) every time we play a good team. It’s like they refuse to make calls and then call touch fouls on the other end.
“That’s just extremely frustrating, bro. Like we play hard. We are outplaying our expectations. We compete hard on the defensive end. And they reward the other team with touch fouls and we go down there and guys are allowed to get away with…. Somebody please pull it up. Every time we play a good team, the inconsistency is crazy. I’ll take the (expletive) fine.”
Brown shifted his attention to the officiating crew, led by Curtis Blair, an 18-year official.
“Curtis, (and) all them dudes was terrible tonight. I don’t care. They can fine me whatever they want. It’s crazy. Every time we play a good team, it’s the same (expletive). Somebody please pull up the clips. I’m irate at how they officiated the game today. I’m driving to the basket. I’m physical. I don’t flop. I don’t shy away from contact. I go up strong. I’m athletic and nothing. No free throws tonight. The inconsistency is (bleeping) crazy. Give me the fine.”
Brown is going to get what he asked for, likely in the $30,000 to $40,000 range on Monday morning. But he does have a point. The Celtics are last in the NBA in free throw attempts and some of that is a byproduct of taking 43 3-pointers per game and some of it has been a lack of calls. There were instances Saturday where officials literally blew calls and there were others where the Celtics commit silly or poorly timed fouls, such as late in the third quarter when Anfernee Simons fouled De’Aaron Fox 40 feet away from the basket just two seconds after Jaylen Brown gave the Celtics a 6-point lead, resulting in two free throws.
The Celtics have to be smarter at times but there’s no reason any NBA team should attempt four free throws in a 48-minute game with the physicality of today’s game. The Spurs and Celtics each attempted 44 3-pointers and the Spurs only had two more shot attempts in the paint, yet they shot 20 free throws.
Brown brought up the possibility of a conspiracy. That may be a little rash for now, but the Celtics could use an easier path to beat the league’s elite teams. It’s not that the league’s officials are collectively against the Celtics, it’s that a team that has dominated the league in 3-point attempts for the past decade doesn’t get the respect when they are physical.
Brown has been simmering about the lack of calls for weeks and so has his coach Joe Mazzulla, who’d rather focus his efforts on coaching up his team. He has only one technical foul this season but the officiating is something the team’s front office has noticed.
And on Saturday, Brown sent a clear message that will come at a cost. The question is whether it will have any long-term impact.
Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at gary.washburn@globe.com. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.