In a battle of first-place teams Saturday night, the Boston Celtics suffered a difficult 100-95 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
Frustrated by a lack of fouls called on the Spurs, Celtics forward Jaylen Brown blasted referee Curtis Blair and his crew after Boston shot a total of four free throws the entire game.
‘I’ll accept the fine at this point,’ Brown told reporters afterward, punctuating his comments with expletives. ‘I hope somebody can just pull up the clips, because it’s the same (stuff) every time we play a good team. I think they’re a good defensive team, but they ain’t that damn good … It’s like they refuse to make a call, then they call touch fouls on the other end. That’s just extremely frustrating, bro.’
The Spurs hit on 14-of-20 free throws for the game, compared to just 3-for-4 for the Celtics.
‘Every time we play a good team, the inconsistency is crazy,’ Brown continued. ‘Curtis, all them dudes was terrible tonight. I don’t care. They can fine me whatever they want. But it’s crazy. Every time we play a good team, it’s the same (crap). Somebody please pull up the clips.’
Brown finished with 27 points on 11-for-28 shooting from the field. Despite playing 43 minutes, he did not attempt a free throw.
‘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. Zero free throws tonight.’
‘It’s hard to win games like that,’ a despondent Brown said. ‘We shot four free throws and lost the game by four. I’d say that’s the whole game, the whole story.’
Brown struggled down the stretch of a game the Celtics actually lost by five points. He shot just 1-for-9 from the field and committed a pair of turnovers during the decisive fourth quarter, in which San Antonio outscored Boston 27-20.