Kristaps Porziņģis and the Boston Celtics lost Game 3 of their series against the Orlando Magic. In the game’s closing milliseconds, it appeared Porziņģis absorbed some contact before the game ended, but nothing was called.
Celtics fans were irate over the missed call, as a foul would have led to free throws that would have given the Celtics a chance to tie the game.
Missed Call on Kristaps Porziņģis Enrages Celtics Fans
CLNS Media’s Noa Dalzell posted a clip of Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. appearing to give Porziņģis an unintentional clothesline before play resumed. In other words, it was an illegal contact that feasibly could have been called for a foul.
I didn’t realize how much contact there was on the final play
pic.twitter.com/k99StJZvKY— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) April 26, 2025
Fans were not too happy to see the footage, as they were quick to call out the referees for missing the call.
“Refs were just terrible tonight,” one wrote.
Another agreed with that sentiment while elaborating on the matter, writing, “It was happening all night and nothing was being called.”
While another agreed, they laughed it off, writing, “lol the refs stunk all night long but we still should of won kp had no chance to tip that in with Carter holding him down lmao.”
lol the refs stunk all night long but we still should of won kp had no chance to tip that in with Carter holding him down lmao
— Joseph Palmieri (@Palmierijoe13) April 26, 2025
One fan didn’t refute the contact but pointed out something, writing, “This is never going to be called in a playoff game.”
That notion is entirely accurate. During the playoffs, referees don’t typically call a foul on something like that in the closing seconds. Referees normally let contact go with that much left in the game because fans don’t enjoy watching players take free throws, especially in the closing seconds.
The more controversial aspect of that game’s ending was not the missed call. Believe it or not, it was the 0.3 seconds left in regulation. Beforehand, the Celtics rebounded a miss from the Magic, then instantly took a timeout that looked like they had more time left than 0.3 seconds.
If they had around a second or maybe less, Boston could have had enough time to run a player, which would have led to a catch-and-shoot. With 0.3 seconds left, they only had enough time to tap the ball into the basket, and that would only be if they had the chance to get open, which they certainly wouldn’t have against a tightly knit defense like Orlando.
And to be perfectly honest, plenty went wrong against Boston in this game. Turnovers, low scoring, and offensive miscues basically doomed them so much that it was miraculous that they were actually in the game until the very end.
The reigning champions can only hope not to make the same mistakes in Game 4.