A whopping 39 personal fouls were called in the second half of the Milwaukee Bucks' Game 3 victory over the Boston Celtics on Friday night. All six of Jaylen Brown's fouls came after intermission, Giannis Antetokounmpo attempted 14 free throws, and 21 of those 39 total whistles were blown on the Celtics. The officiating crew called a very, very tight game in the second half, but if one team has a bigger gripe than the other, it's almost certainly the Celtics.

Kyrie Irving, though, insists his team won't be changing its approach going forward. Instead, the Celtics plan on forcing the referees to adjust to them.

“We’re going to make sure there aren’t eye-catching calls,” Irving said, per Josué Pavon of WEEI. “We’re not going to adjust to them, we’re gonna make them adjust to us.”

Brown was similarly diplomatic, but a bit less thinly veiled in his comments about the officiating.

Article Continues Below
More Boston Celtics News
boston celtics 2025 nba draft
Boston Celtics 2025 NBA Draft grades for every pickDaniel Donabedian ·
May 14, 2025; Chicago, Il, USA; Jase Richardson talks to the media during the 2025 NBA Draft Combine at Marriott Marquis Chicago.
Orlando Magic’s Jase Richardson headlines 5 biggest steals of 2025 NBA Draft Round 1Rishav Bhat ·
Celtics' Jayson Tatum watching Cooper Flagg shoot a basketball.
Celtics’ Jayson Tatum shares Cooper Flagg photo after NBA DraftAbdullah Imran ·
Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens throws a behind the back pass to one of his players before their game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden.
Celtics pull off trade with Magic amid second round of 2025 NBA draftRichard Pereira ·
Boston Celtics center Robert Williams III (44) and forward Grant Williams (12) react in the fourth quarter against the Miami Heat during game five of the Eastern Conference Finals for the 2023 NBA playoffs at TD Garden.
Celtics’ trade proposal for Robert Williams brings much-needed depthBailey Bassett ·
Jordan Tatum 3 3 Stars, Jordan Tatum, Jordan Tatum 3 release
Jordan Tatum 3 ‘3 Stars’ dropping soonDominik Zawartko ·

“I’m not going to comment on it,” he said, per Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports. “I think they shot a lot of free throws. It is what it is. You move on…Obviously that’s something that’s going to be talked about, but I’m not going to do too much of that talking.”

The team-wide foul numbers don't accurately portray why the Celtics are so frustrated after Game 3. Zeroing in on Antetokounmpo definitely does, though.

The Bucks superstar took 22 free throws, 10 more than Irving, who attempted the next most freebies. On multiple occasions, Antetokounmpo put his head down, drew contact, and heard a whistle he didn't get during the first two games of this series.

We'll see if that changes come Game 4 on Monday.