Getty Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics.
The Boston Celtics dropped Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night, losing to the Golden State Warriors 107-88. The Warriors absolutely stomped the Celtics, as Boston recorded 19 turnovers and allowed Golden State to score 33 points off of them.
However, while Boston’s turnovers hurt them, the Celtics also feel as though they weren’t treated fairly by the referees throughout the course of the game. Multiple Celtics spoke out about the issue during their post-game press conferences, including Jayson Tatum.
The Celtics superstar told the media that he didn’t think Boston was getting the same treatment as Golden State. He claimed that the Celtics weren’t “getting the benefit of the doubt” when they tried to match the Warriors’ physicality.
“I just kind of felt like we weren’t getting the benefit of the doubt when we were trying to play with that physicality,” Tatum explained.
Tatum wasn’t the only one who commented on the matter, though. His co-star, Jaylen Brown, also had something to say about the officiating.
Brown Talks About ‘Phantom Call’
In the first quarter, Brown was called for a foul on Gary Payton II, who was attempting a layup in transition. Brown brushed up behind Payton II, causing the referees to call a foul. However, upon closer inspection, Brown never made any substantial contact with Payton II.
After the game, Brown noted how that one play changed the course of the game, as he was then forced to sit down with two fouls.
“I don’t feel like I touched Gary Payton,” Brown explained. “And I expressed that, but they called the foul on me, and that sat me down. I can’t let that be the reason why, in the second half, I wasn’t able to be as effective, but it definitely changed the game with that phantom call.”
As Brown said, his displeasure with the call shouldn’t cause him to play poorly for the rest of the game, but that’s exactly what it did. From that point on, Brown shot just 1-for-11 from the field.
Big man Al Horford also had something to say about the officials, referencing Ime Udoka’s technical foul in the third quarter.
Horford: ‘It Was Definitely Different’
When asked about Udoka’s technical foul, Horford just laughed, saying that he could “see that coming from a mile away.” He also mentioned that the officiating was “different,” but also that they knew it was going to be heading into the game
“I can imagine that was that I could see that coming a mile away,” said Horford. “That whole first half. You know, it was definitely different, and we knew that it was going to be different, but we kind of wanted to just stay the course. And it is what it is.”
Udoka was also asked about his technical foul, and according to him, he picked it up on purpose, as he was trying to express his feelings on how the game was being called.
“I just let them know how I felt throughout the game. In a demonstrative way. On purpose. To get a technical,” Udoka explained.
It was made clear that nobody on the Celtics was a fan of the officiating in Game 2, but regardless, they’ll have their chance to bounce back in Game 3. That game takes place on Wednesday night at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time.