Jaylen Brown called out the referees for their lack of foul calls during the Boston Celtics’ recent 119-109 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Celtics wing dissected a play where the Thunder’s defensive presence, Lu Dort, was not called for a contact foul when he was defending Brown as he made his way to the rim.
Jaylen Brown Criticizes Officials for Missed Call Against Lu Dort
While Dort has made a name for himself as one of the best defenders in the modern-day NBA, the physicality that goes unnoticed sometimes was what Brown had a problem with; he had video evidence to prove his point.
The sequence unfolded in the third quarter when Brown made his way past OKC’s defense as he barreled to the basket. Dort made contact with the Celtics star as he launched himself in the air for the shot. The referees, though, did not blow the whistle as the play continued.
Taking to his Twitch stream, Brown said, “Dang. They weren’t about to call this, too. Bro snapped me upside the head, I’m tight.” He added, “Bro smacked me upside the head like I was one of his grandkids or something.”
The latest comes on the back of Dort’s recent flagrant foul against Nikola Jokić that later saw him regret the move. “It was a physical game throughout the whole game,” Dort told The Athletic.
“Obviously, that was unnecessary contact that I shouldn’t have done. I got the worst of it when I got thrown out of the game. But yeah, it was a high-level game. I’m a competitor, so I compete.” He also added, “That’s a physical game, and there are limits to it. And, I went over the limit.”
Brown’s video evidence criticizing the referees comes after his own ejection during the game against the San Antonio Spurs. The All-Star was tossed after his interaction with the referees after Stephon Castle shoved him. The back-to-back technicals to Brown saw an automatic exit.
The Thunder vs. Celtics skirmish saw Brown lead the side with 31 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists. Dort finished with 14 points and 5 rebounds.
On the season front, Brown is in the middle of an excellent season, averaging 28.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 5.2 assists while shooting 47.9% from the field, 34.7% from the 3-point line, and 78.5% from the free throw line.
As for Dort, his defensive play, despite the brute physicality, has seen him play an equally important role as the Thunder are poised to finish as the top seed in the Western Conference. He averages 8.5 points and 3.8 rebounds in his 60 games played.
The Celtics and the Thunder have enjoyed stellar runs this season, and their recent matchup has also been labeled as an NBA Finals preview. Only time will tell if the refereeing tightens up ahead of the playoffs.
