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Jaylen Brown calls out ‘one-sided’ refs after frustrating loss to Magic
"For whatever reason they've kind of cut my whistle off where I'm not getting to the foul line as aggressive as I am."
The shorthanded Magic scratched, clawed, and ultimately stole a victory from the Jayson Tatum-less Celtics Monday night.
Jaylen Brown, who led all scorers with 35 points in the loss, said the physicality Orlando played with is something the Celtics need to get used to. He also said the Celtics did not get a fair shake from the referees.
“Definitely a physical game,” Brown said. “Credit to Orlando, we should have met the physicality a little bit better. I think it’s a good preparation game. Things weren’t going our way.”
“We feel like the officials were one-sided,” he added. “So, I think it was good for us. I think we need to see that more, get used to that more, get more comfortable with that level of environment. We’ll watch it and we’ll be better.”
Brown shook his head as a reporter asked him about a particular play involving Orlando’s Wendell Carter Jr.
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Brown hit the ground hard on a layup attempt, but there was no call.
“It’s been like that,” Brown said. “For whatever reason they’ve kind of cut my whistle off where I’m not getting to the foul line as aggressive as I am. I’m not going to complain. It is what it is. Just have to adjust.
“Maybe right there I’ll just be more physical,” He added. “But then again, they’ll call you for an offensive foul. So you’re just trying to figure it out. Used a lot of floaters today trying to adjust. But, I definitely thought he impeded my progress a few times and they got away with it in the fourth quarter.”
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The refs did not cause the Celtics to miss 24 of their 32 3-point attempts, which was a major factor in the loss. Boston and Orlando both shot an identical 37-for-83 from the field, but the Magic had it going from outside while the Celtics did not.
Orlando also out-rebounded the Celtics, blocked more shots, and held their composure after center Goga Bitdaze was ejected in the closing minutes following an altercation with Kristaps Porzingis.
The Celtics blew a double-digit lead, and suffered a surprising loss as a result.
“They set the tone,” Brown said. “They were allowed to use their hands and the team that sets the tone often gets the game kind of called in their favor. I feel like we fouled them more than we liked. I was in foul trouble a little bit trying to use my physicality. They were allowed to be physical tonight and it had an effect on us in the second half.”
Facing adversity is good, Brown said. The Celtics will encounter plenty of physical basketball in the playoffs, and the whistle won’t always go their way.
Orlando is fourth in the Eastern Conference, but with Sixth Man of the Year candidate Mo Wagner out for the season, seeing the Celtics early in the playoffs isn’t out of the question. A lot can happen between now and then.
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“I thought we fought down the line,” Brown said. “I thought we played aggressive. I thought we got a lot of great looks. Defensively, I thought we did some good things. We got some 25 point quarters. So, we’ll look at it and we’ll be better going forward.”
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