Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla had one thing on his mind following Monday night’s 98-96 loss to the Indiana Pacers: the officiating crew.
That was the only topic Mazzulla cared to address postgame,
and he boiled every answer down to the same two words.
“Illegal screen,” Mazzulla told reporters, per NBC Sports Boston.
Mazzulla repeated the phrase — and that phrase only — six times during his 44-second postgame press conference before walking off the podium. Nothing else mattered in his mind after Boston suffered a second straight defeat — not Anfernee Simons’ 16 points off the bench or the team’s brutal 9-of-35 (26%) shooting from three. Mazzulla’s primary focus remained on Pascal Siakam’s screen set on Derrick White, which led to Indiana’s game-sealing basket with 6.1 seconds left in regulation.
It was the Siakam-White screen, and the message Mazzulla wanted the officials to hear.
While White guarded Indiana’s Andrew Nembhard, Siakam came from behind and set a screen that Mazzulla deemed illegal. Referee Eric Dalen was closest to the play, but neither Dalen, Pat Fraher, nor Brandon Schwab blew their whistles. Siakam knocked White to the ground, used his 6-foot-8 frame to back the 6-foot-4 guard down, then spun left to separate from White and finished with a layup.
Mazzulla insisted that Siakam should have been called for an illegal screen, as it appeared he extended his right leg and leaned with his right shoulder, causing White to tumble during a crucial moment in the game.
Even though White recovered in time to guard Siakam one-on-one, Mazzulla’s criticism reflects a greater frustration brewing from the Celtics towards the league officials. Immediately after Saturday night’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs, Jaylen Brown vented in Boston’s locker room and challenged the NBA to fine him, which they did, serving him a $35,000 penalty hours before Boston tipped off at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Brown pointed at the free-throw disparity between the Celtics and Spurs, highlighting San Antonio’s 20 attempts versus Boston’s four.
The Celtics rank dead last in the NBA in free-throw attempts (18.7 per game) this season, and while they take the second-most 3-pointers (42.6), that shot profile isn’t enough to support their most recent four-game homestand. Boston strayed away from its usual Mazzulla-ball scheme against the Toronto Raptors, attempting just 28 threes — their fewest this season, and the second-fewest in Mazzulla’s tenure. But over the four-game stretch, the Celtics averaged only 12.8 free-throw attempts, nearly six fewer than their season average.
Brown, who leads the NBA in 2-point attempts (16.1), ranks last among the four leading MVP candidates, per FanDuel Sportsbook — behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Dončić, and Cade Cunningham — in free-throw attempts per game with 7.2 this season.
It’s a growing frustration for Brown, Mazzulla, and the Celtics that’s impacted their pursuit of winning. This time, not getting the whistle allowed for the continuation of Indiana’s offense to attack the Siakam-White mismatch and keep Boston in the loss column.
Boston entered the game shorthanded, as low back spasms sidelined Brown against the Pacers. Without the team’s vocal leader on and off the floor, the Celtics’ locker room was far less inclined to challenge the NBA’s powers that be and invite another round of fines.
“I don’t know,” Payton Pritchard told reporters, per NBC Sports Boston. “He made the shot. Maybe certain calls could have been made, but he made a bank shot — a tough shot — so you’ve got to live with that. Good defense.”
For the second time in 72 hours, Boston’s offense was held to 40 points in the second half. Indiana’s ability to limit the Celtics to 96 points marked the first time this season that Mazzulla’s offense was held to under 100 points in consecutive games. Boston never grew its lead larger than nine points, had no player besides Pritchard make more than two 3-pointers, and fell to 8-12 in clutch games.
“We had good shots at the start of the second half,” Pritchard told reporters. “We just missed them, and we’ll be better.”
