Pacers Guard Admits Refs Missed Game-Changing Call Vs. Celtics

The Boston Celtics found themsevles on the wrong end of a potentially botched call during Monday night’s nail-bitter against the Indiana Pacers.

In the fourth quarter, with 3.2 seconds remaining and the game tied at 131-131, Indiana’s Buddy Hield appeared to make contact with Jaylen Brown’s head on a contested jump shot. NBA officials initially charged Hield with a foul, but upon further review, that call was overturned which proved to haunt the Celtics down the line.

“I can’t wait till 4 o’clock tomorrow,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters following Boston’s 133-131 loss to Indiana, as seen on NBC Sports Boston’s postgame coverage. “I just can’t wait till 4 o’clock. I’m not bothered, it’s just Buddy Hield told me that he fouled him so I can’t wait for the last two-minute report.”

Boston’s been hit with incorrect foul calls on several instances throughout the season, so it’s nothing new.

Brown, who finished with a season-high 40 points on 17-of-26 shooting, shared a similar sentiment to Mazzulla’s.

“I think he obviously hit me in the head,” Brown said, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic. “That’s what I’m gonna say. I’ve never heard head part of the ball.”

However, the bad karma didn’t end there for the Celtics.

Controversy struck Boston yet again when on the very next play, Kristaps Porzingis was charged with a shooting foul on Indiana’s Benedict Mathurin — leading to the game-ending free-throw attempts.

Boston failed to send Indiana to the loss column in back-to-back matchups, falling to 11-8 on the road this season with a still-NBA-best 28-8 record.