Jaylen Brown isn’t a fan of what’s going on in the NBA.
The Celtics star, who scored 34 points in a 104-102 loss to the league-leading Thunder on Thursday night, spoke to reporters for the first time since his ejection for arguing a non-foul call earlier in the week.
“I don’t know, maybe it all works in the end, but I just don’t foul bait,” Brown said. “I’m not looking to flop or anything like that, but it’s almost like you got to. It’s almost like, because there’s a couple of plays in the fourth quarter where I felt like I drove strong, went up strong, and I didn’t get the benefit of the doubt. But maybe if I would have flopped, maybe I would have been able to sell that call. And those decide games.”
In a road loss to the Spurs on Tuesday, Brown argued with officials after San Antonio’s Stephon Castle bumped him out of bounds while he was dribbling, but failed to get a call.
Instead, the 29-year-old earned a pair of technicals and an ejection for his troubles.
In Thursday’s matchup with the reigning NBA champions, Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander broke Wilt Chamberlain’s record with his 127th straight game with at least 20 points.
His 35-point effort was aided by hitting seven of his eight free-throws.
The 2024-25 MVP has drawn the second-most fouls this season and is often derided by fans as a “free-throw merchant” for his penchant for getting calls.
Thursday’s loss came on a pair of free throws by OKC center Chet Holmgren, who drew a foul on Boston’s Sam Houser with 0.8 seconds remaining.
Brown did not address the the call on Houser or Gilgeous-Alexander’s game specifically, but pointed to the larger problem he’s seeing.
“It’s like, we commend players for playing the game the right way, but we give the benefit to those who necessarily are trying to manipulate the game into their advantage,” Brown, who has drawn the sixth-most fouls this season, said. “I just don’t think it’s basketball. Let’s just play basketball. All the foul baiting, I think it’s whatever for me.”
Brown hit 13 of his 14 free throws on the night.
After Thursday, the Celtics sit in second in the Eastern Conference with a 43-23 record, 4.5 games behind the top-seeded Pistons and 1.5 games ahead of the Knicks.
They’ll face the Thunder, winners of seven straight, again in 12 days with a shot at revenge.