Boston Celtics’ STRUGGLE late in Spurs loss | Jaylen Brown RIPS Refs
Boston Celtics fall late to San Antonio Spurs despite Jaylen Brown and Derrick White’s explosive first halves. Can the Celtics overcome end-game fatigue and officiating struggles as the season heats up?
John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal breaks down Boston’s narrow five-point loss, spotlighting Victor Wembanyama’s unstoppable shot-making and the strategic defensive matchups featuring Jordan Walsh and Hugo Gonzalez. Key moments include Jaylen Brown’s heated clash with referees—will his latest outburst finally spark league action? Plus, Karalis assesses critical turnovers, rebounding woes, and why the Celtics’ resilience remains cause for optimism. Bonus coverage highlights Luke Kornet’s tribute, Derrick White’s frustrations, and Anfernee Simons going cold.
Will Boston rebound against the Indiana Pacers? Don’t miss this quick-hit Celtics breakdown and what it means for the road ahead.
0:00 Celtics-Spurs Loss Recap
2:06 Jaylen Brown vs. Referees
5:56 End-of-Game Offensive Struggles
9:58 Celtics Guarding Wembanyama
13:51 Box Score Standouts
16:45 Takeaways & Closing Thoughts
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Locked On Celtics is a daily Boston Celtics podcast by Boston Sports Journal beat writer John Karalis. It’s an inside look at the C’s from a former professional basketball player who is at practices & games.
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45 Comments
Second night of a back to back against a really tough matchup… Jaylen had zero legs at the end. I get why joe played him and white 40 mins, felt like he had to.. but I also think it did lead to some settling and tough plays at the end.
Jaylen is right, look at the "turnover" in transition, Fox clearly pushed him and it wasn't called. The refs aren't being consistent, either make the calls on both sides or let them play.
Brown has zero FT attempts😮
JB needs to chill out on calling out the refs. I get his frustration and all, but the Celtics do not need the refs holding their whistle when it comes to a call that could help Boston.
I love Joe and I think he is doing an absolutely phenomenal job this year.. But I think he was too hard on Walsh tonight. Walsh was effective and he's not the only one who blew a rebound or two.
💚☘☘☘
☘️☘️👊
Ohh stop the damn crying wemby gets hit left and right bad. Sometimes by three guys at once and still doesn't get the calls
Scheierman has no business guarding wemby on that last play. Jordan walsh defended wemby pretty well, and then no minutes in 2nd half? Make it make sense
Stop speak about refs. Srurs were significantly better at 4th quarter
Brown needs to chill. He pushes off almost all the time to create space.
We gotta stop acting like JB is SGA flopping everywhere when in actuality he be trying to dump Wemby in a poster…
5x FT discrepancy is egregious, it can dictate a game obviously but at the same time those clutch mins were atrocious. Gotta be better on the road trip ☘︎
Pritchard was not attacking in this game. For some reason.
Two things: the argument of I don’t know how Jaylen did not get to the free throw line 4 or 5 times can be countered by I don’t know how Castle or Wembanyama did not get 4 or 5 more free throws. Foul calls are missed all the time. Also when a team play as physical as SA half the time they commit a foul and half the time an offensive foul is committed on them. Jaylen can only get past Castle because he commits offensive foul with his off hand. That off hand keeping defender away a la NFL plus the push off? One could argue he is allowed 2-3 baskets because of it alone. I know as fans we are fanatical so this will not make sense to most here.
Brown needs to work on his ball handling. Turns it over too much. Lost 2022 finals because of turnovers. Control ball = get calls
Waterboy needs to not try dunking on 7'5" people when he can kick it out for open three pointers.
Incredible game to watch. Wemby is so freaking good. There were a lot of no calls but it’s not the reason why they lost. They did look a little tired and Wemby is just too good. Those last 2 fades were impressive. Good game. Tough loss. They’ll learn and be better going forward.
That was one of the worst officiated games in nba history. Jb Has the right to be pissed off. The celtics have been getting such a bad whistle for seasons now. Yes the refs were the reason we lost this game.
Its hard to play to win and not turn the ball over when you get hacked with no foul calls. Its hard to maintain a lead when you always play the game with a massive FT disadvantage every game.
Perhaps we can change the jersey colors to yellow or light blue to get a a fair whistle?
Need a bounceback win vs. The pacers. Back down to the 3rd seed now. Beat the pacers! Lets go celtics!
Jaylen puts the refs in a tough situation by pushing and shoving his way into the lane, the immediately and habitually falling down. Never saw anyone trying to draw fouls by falling down. He takes himself out of the play. There are times when the Celtics play better without him.,
There are times when the Celtics goal is first to see that jaylen wins mvp recognition. Jay Ken can’t handle the double team.,he gets flustered.
Indeed, these spurs are astonishing, so quickly. We didn't see them coming, starting with the addition of Castle, a sort of tamer, Fox, now Harper. Victor doesn't quite play basketball; it's like there are two players in one person, constantly spectacular. What's more, his height allows you to follow his moves almost in slow motion—a real spectacle.
You're not going to get that many calls shooting the ball from the outside. The Spurs in couldn't hit from the outside so they lived in the paint and got the fouls
If anyone should be fined it should be the refs…
I didn’t see any missed fouls, spurs are just a great defensive team
We played very tough with them, but it's hard to ignore the fact they missed a ton of good looks from 3. Spurs could've easily held a comfortable 10 point lead throughout most of this game.
I'm also disappointed in Walsh. He's been quite the no-show for a while now after seeming to begin a breakout.
It's okay John thank you for all you do Jaylen may just let it go 😢☘️☘️
Thanks 🍻 ☘️
I thought the refs weren’t great but they were at least consistent both ways letting the teams play.
Much respect to Boston and Celtics fans. I hope our paths cross again in the playoffs. Would love for my Spurs to play the Celtics in the Finals!
When Wemby was in the game, it seemed like your guards started taking more 3 point shots. Brown and White need to just keep driving. Force the refs to have to call a foul. Keep going strong to the hoop relentlessly.
I think our teams are very similar with attacking guards, spot up shooters, big guys in the paint, good defenses and motion offenses.
Wemby – showing the league he is going to start making teams pay to put smaller defender on him
The Boston Celtics are total class. Obviously, a storied franchise with a longtime winning culture too!
Question what crew called the Denver game, yes Curtis Blair crew, just saying.
SAY what u want, u have playoffs type game and 1 Team shoot 20fts and other 4. In a Nba game. Talk about 43min played by JB, DW 42min. on a back to back, talk about PP and Simon disappearing against good competition.
Can you tell me your opinion about the crying about the ref’s ??
They make errors. It’s always been so. Everyone knows this. And there has always been complaints, by players & coaches.
But in this ‘modern’ world, this whole thing is off the charts. Certain players, key players especially, are making themselves look stupid, and, so you can’t cheer for them.
Can’t someone get across to such folks that they are wasting valuable energy, mental & emotional energy??
Two straight quarters where your team scores only 20 points and you still could not believe that this is a damn good defensive team. There is something wrong with your objectivity. The officiating was not perfect but looked even on both sides. Boston was leading 80 or so per cent of the time. If he was referring to the clips where he got blocked, retreated from a drive, or had to throw it up a mile high against Wemby, everything was clean. The Spurs is among the leaders in the league for committing the least number of fouls leading to free throws. And Boston leads the league in 3 points taken so they do not drive to the basket that often So, it is not a surprise that there was such a disparity in the free throws. Have some class and acknowledge that the team made a few more plays than you did and move on. JB is one of the more cerebral players in the NBA but this take on a loss makes him look really small.
When you're the team that takes and makes the most 3s in the league… maybe that's the reason you don't get as many calls as you'd like when you go to the rack. As a Spurs fan, that's watched every game this year… we get butchered a ton in the paint and don't get calls & we have driving guards… not shooters. That's why the Celtics ran that sag on defense on our whole team last night. We started like 2-15 in 3's.
He's just mad Wemby didn't allow him to have a highlight.
The other Jaylen in OKC who is leading the league right now said it with more class. There is a 7'5 dude on the other team that takes up a lot of space. And yes, Jaylen Brown–the Spurs are a damn good defensive team. Have some class.
Sore looser(s) Wemby and the spartans are that team Wemby era here coming to court near you GSG
SPURS are learning that their 3-point shooting might not always be good, but they can rely on teamwork, grit, hustle and defense to win games. 👽🏀
When you continue to whinge about referees all the time you start to become the boy who cried wolf. He has a legitimate gripe with this game but when you go after officials in games like the nuggets game where you were just boxed it falls on deaf ears.
This was a very well played game vs a very tough opponent. Tough finish against one of the best defensive closing lineups.
BOS is not a complete team. They need another advantage creator, (which they’ll have).
Thought it was a very good showing considering the circumstances.
I think it's kind of a bad look for Jaylen to be bellyaching about the refs after he had a chance to tie or put them ahead, and just got it ripped by de'aaron Fox… I've been jaylen's biggest fan ever since he's been drafted. But this would have been a good opportunity for him to stay humble and lock in for next time. De'aaron Fox is no joke either
I have no issues with what JB said, refs were trash. 0 FTs is outrageous
Too bad JB has become such a classless whiner-
He’s been pouting since he wasn’t chosen for the OLYMPIC team ( he probably should have been) but it’s past time to move on— you’re a grown man and a professional basketball player. You play a game for a living, a damn good living—- sit down.