The Milwaukee Bucks escaped with a 103-101 win during Saturdayâs Game 3 thriller against the Boston Celtics. There was a lot of controversy towards the end of the game, with the referees making a rather contentious call on Marcus Smartâs 3-point attempt with just seconds remaining.
Jrue Holiday was whistled for a foul on Smart as the Celtics guard tried to put up a triple. It was assessed as a non-shooting foul and with the Celtics down three at that point, it was an undeniably tough break for them.
Hereâs a look at the play in question:
NBA officials ruled this a 'sweeping' move and not a shooting motion by Marcus Smart.
Should this have been 3 free throws for Smart? đ¤pic.twitter.com/4yJwwpkzvU
â ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) May 7, 2022
For his part, Celtics star Jaylen Brown decided to call out the game officials after their heartbreaking loss:
âYou gotta understand time and score,â Brown said. âDown three, looking to get one up, I thought it was pretty obvious. But all year theyâve been calling that on the floor, which we understand. But time and score, I think they missed one.â
Jaylen Brown on the foul call: "You gotta understand time and score. Down three, looking to get one up, I thought it was pretty obvious. But all year theyâve been calling that on the floor, which we understand. But time and score, I think they missed one." https://t.co/1KkAsFNmIz
â Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) May 7, 2022
Brown didnât exactly rip the referees here so he should be safe from being fined by the NBA. Nevertheless, heâs made it abundantly clear that he thinks they were wrong and that Smart should have been given three free throws. He was not, and now the Celtics are down 2-1 in the series.