The Boston Celtics fell to the Utah Jazz tonight, 105-103, and the final minute left the biggest mark. With less than a minute left, Celtics star Jaylen Brown attempted to drive to the basket with the game tied, before Jazz guard Keyonte George slipped and fell in front of him, sending him to the floor, but without any whistle. The Jazz quickly capitalized with a fastbreak bucket, and eventually won the game off a late Jusuf Nurkic hook shot. After the game, Brown didn’t hold back.

In the postgame conference, Brown was asked about the frustration resulting from the play, and the forward went off on the officiating. “Man, y’all gonna get me fined,” he began, “because you can’t have a mistake like that as an official at that point in the game. It’s the fourth quarter, it’s a minute left in the game or less, and you completely — the whole staff blows the f—— call.”

The Celtics star called the moment “unacceptable,” and told reporters that it “cost us a game.” His tone was filled with frustration but also disbelief, echoing the reactions of fans online.

JB didn’t stop there. “You can make mistakes at any point in a game,” he continued, “but right there, that wasn’t good. That wasn’t good. That’s unacceptable.” He also added that he confronted the officials, but the referees told him they  “didn’t see it.” Brown fired back at them, saying, “Like, none of you see it? You can’t trip somebody in the fourth quarter and then just be a no-call. It’s some b——-.”

With these comments, some speculate that Brown might be the target of a fine from the NBA. Other stars have previously been fined upwards of $25,000 for their comments. Last year, both Anthony Edwards and Ty Jerome were fined by the NBA. The then Cavs guard Jerome, after a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, had specifically called out official Natalie Sago by name, adding that, “She was really bad.”

Edwards was critical of officials twice in one month last year, being fined a combined $100,000. He had said, “I get penalized for being stronger than my opponent… They bump me the same way they bump everybody else, and I never get the call. I don’t know what’s got to go down, but something’s got to happen because that is terrible.”

Rebounding, Missed Threes Doom Jaylen Brown’s Boston Celtics in Costly Loss

Jusuf Nurkic’s go-ahead bucket with less than a second left was the cherry on top of a massive Utah Jazz comeback and silenced TD Garden. The Boston Celtics had managed to tie the game at 103 after center Neemias Queta hit one of two free throws, but Nurkic managed to grab the offensive rebound and score. Right after, Boston’s final inbound play ended with Jaylen Brown being called for an offensive foul, ending the game.

Utah had trailed by as much as 10 in the first half but managed to claw its way back behind a combined 40 points between Keyonte George and Lauri Markkanen. The Jazz dominated the boards tonight, and managed to outscore the Celtics 38-26 in the third, completely flipping the game’s momentum.

For Boston, Brown tried everything, scoring 36 points, but the team couldn’t overcome their horrid shooting night, going an abysmal 11-51 from three, with JB going 0-9 from beyond the arc. Payton Pritchard and Derrick White also added 28 points, but shooting under 38% from the field led to the offense stagnating. Brown’s unfiltered reaction showcased just how bitter this loss felt.

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