There was a clear need for both the San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics to be in full force. These two squads have a high chance of battling each other out in the NBA Finals for the Larry O'Brien Trophy when summer rolls around. Victor Wembanyama put out a monster 39-point performance but the energy in the game shifted when Jaylen Brown got ejected by NBA referee Tyler Ford.
Celtics lose MVP candidate vs. Spurs
Brown was only able to play 15 minutes through the first two quarters against the Spurs. This was a huge dagger in the Celtics' chances of beating the second-seed in the Western Conference. His eight points and seven assists could have snowballed into a much bigger contribution had heads not flared up. Unfortunately, this was not the desired direction that the game chose to go to.
Ford eventually had to explain the reason for throwing out Brown in a crucial matchup, via Jared Weiss of The Athletic.
"For aggressively pointing and using profanity to the no call. He aggressively approached a game official while pointing and using profanity. In live play, we did not observe any illegal contact," the NBA referee said when asked about the technical foul on the Celtics superstar.
Fortunately, the Celtics worked through committee to keep this game close. Jayson Tatum churned out 24 points, Derrick White heated up with 34 points of his own, and Ron Harper Jr. was a much-needed spark off the bench because of his 22 points. Clearly, these efforts were not enough to stop the Spurs from getting their sixth-consecutive win. The Celtics had to fall in a rough 125-116 loss.
Brown is a key contributor, if not the focal point of the Celtics' defense and offense. Hopefully, Coach Joe Mazzulla figures out how they can win games without their Most Valuable Player candidate.
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