The Boston Celtics nearly pulled off a massive comeback against the Miami Heat in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday, but they were unable to make enough stops down the stretch. Jaylen Brown seemed to think the officials were also to blame.
Brown led all scorers with 40 points in Boston’s 109-103 loss. He also committed a game-high seven turnovers. Brown admitted after the game that he did a “s— job” of taking care of the basketball and said he needs to be “stronger” when he gets into the paint. He sneaked in some criticism of the officiating crew as well.
“They let a lot of stuff go tonight. Especially when I feel like I drive and I get to the basket, I feel like it’s two hands on me all the time,” Brown said, per Justin Leger of NBC Sports Boston. “I never get those hand-checking calls, but I don’t make excuses. We get better. I did a s–t job taking care of the basketball today. I’ve got to do better.”
The Heat were far more physical than the Celtics on Saturday night. Miami led by as many as 26 points before Boston began chipping away. Celtics coach Ime Udoka said after the game that his team “wilted under pressure.” He also criticized his players for doing exactly what Brown did in his postgame press conference.
The Celtics have a tendency to get distracted when calls don’t go their way. Udoka obviously is trying to get them to focus more in those situations.
Game 4 is in Boston on Monday night. The Heat have a 2-1 series lead.
