The NBA released the last two-minute report after the Boston Celtics lost to the Indiana Pacers on January 9. After the report was made public, Jayson Tatum took to his X account to respond to what the report confirmed with five simple words.
Tatum evidently did not agree with some of the calls that the report confirmed. Chief among the controversial decisions was when the referees overturned a foul called on Buddy Hield in the game’s closing seconds.
After calling a foul on the floor, the Pacers challenge and the call is overturned. Pacers ball.
While the report confirmed that the reversal was the right call, it also confirmed that a foul should not have been called on Kristaps Porzingis towards the end of the game.
Celtics fouled the Pacers on the final play 😱
Kristaps Porziņģis couldn’t believe the call
The foul led to Benedict Matthurin taking three free throws that gave the Pacers a two-point lead with 0.3 seconds left. Porzingis himself also responded to the report, albeit more cryptically than Tatum.
Ultimately, what’s done is done. Whether the report confirmed what the Celtics believed were the right calls does not change the fact that they lost. The Celtics can only regroup and focus on their next game.
Jayson Tatum Off Celtics’ Injury Report
Jayson Tatum missed the Celtics game against the Pacers on January 8 due to an ankle injury. However, Tatum did not appear on the Celtics injury report for their upcoming game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on January 10.
#NEBHInjuryReport for tomorrow vs. Minnesota:
Jrue Holiday (right elbow sprain injury management) – QUESTIONABLE
Al Horford (illness, non-Covid) – QUESTIONABLE
Kristaps Porzingis (right knee contusion) – QUESTIONABLE
On the season, Tatum has missed three games total. In fact, he has not been one to miss many games overall throughout any season. Outside of the two COVID-shortened seasons from 2019 to 2021, Tatum has played 70-plus games in every NBA season he’s played.
Despite Tatum’s absence in their loss against the Pacers, the Celtics did not lose much ground in the Eastern Conference. The No. 2 seed Milwaukee Bucks also lost to the Utah Jazz that same day, making the Celtics two-and-a-half games ahead of the Bucks for the top seed in the conference.
The real question will be whether Porzingis and/or Al Horford will be ready to play. The Celtics have been firm on resting Horford on back-to-backs due to his age. Because Porzingis is injury-prone, the Celtics want to ensure he’ll be ready by playoff time more than anything else.
Jaylen Brown Calls for Investigation
After the Celtics loss, Jaylen Brown did not hide his disgust at the overturned call during his postgame press conference.
“I think we got the right to be upset… that one should be investigated.”
Jaylen Brown gets candid about controversial end of Celtics game vs. Pacers, and the foul on Buddy Hield that was overturned
“I think he obviously hit me in the head. We definitely need to do some investigation. That’s all I’m gonna say. I think that was an obvious one. I’ve never heard of ‘head part of the ball.’ It doesn’t make any sense to me,” Brown said, per Celtics on NBC Sports Boston’s X account.
Brown added that his complaints shouldn’t warrant any fines because of how understandable his reaction is.
“That cost our team the game. You expect us not to be frustrated? We’re trying to build good habits. We’re trying to win as many games as possible. We just dropped one because of that, so I feel like we have the right to be upset. The league should understand. Of course, we’re going to say something about it after the game. So I don’t think there should be any fines, but I definitely think that one should be investigated.”
No fines have been assessed yet, but that could change in the coming days.
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Celtics’ Jayson Tatum Has 5-Word Reaction to NBA’s Missed Calls