Jaylen Brown sounds off on Magic’s physicality: “The flagrant fouls is piling up.”

ORLANDO — Jaylen Brown smirked when requested about Orlando’s physicality as he sat down on the postgame podium after the Celtics’ 95-93 loss to the Magic.

“They received away with loads,” he mentioned. “If you will get away with it, I might do it too.”

Brown, who entered Friday’s Recreation 3 towards the Magic listed as questionable to play attributable to a proper knee impingement, completed the sport with a brand new harm: a dislocated index finger.

That dislocation got here by the hands of Magic guard Cole Anthony, who yanked Brown’s arm as he drove to the basket within the second quarter.

“However I received 9 extra [fingers],” Brown mentioned, demonstrably wiggling his fingers.

Upon evaluation, Anthony was issued a flagrant foul, penalty one — the Magic’s third of the sequence.

The primary got here in Recreation 1, when a flagrant foul was known as on Kentavious Caldwell-Pope after he pulled down Jayson Tatum on a drive to the basket. That resulted in Tatum lacking Recreation 2 with a bone bruise on his wrist, and Al Horford resoundingly acknowledged there was one thing additional to that play.

In Recreation 2, it was Kristaps Porzingis took an elbow to the face from Goga Bitadze, and subsequently received 5 stitches on his brow.

Then, lastly, in Recreation 3, it was Brown.

“The flagrant fouls is piling up, you recognize what I imply?” he mentioned.

So, the place do the Celtics go from right here?

Brown thinks the tensions might finally boil over into an on-court skirmish.

“There is perhaps a struggle escape or one thing as a result of it’s beginning to really feel prefer it’s not even basketball — and the refs will not be controlling their atmosphere,” he mentioned, including: “If we wish to struggle it out, we will do this. We are able to struggle to see who goes to the second spherical.”

The Celtics star made positive to notice he didn’t thoughts the bodily play. He simply needs to see it known as each methods.

Brown was the one participant on both workforce who racked up 5 fouls within the recreation. Two of the fouls got here on the offensive finish within the third quarter, costing the Celtics 4 factors in 1 / 4 that noticed them rating a season-low 11 factors.

He was sidelined after choosing up his fifth foul with 4 minutes to play, and consequently, he missed three of the ultimate 4 minutes.

“I don’t have an issue with the sport being bodily,” he mentioned. “It simply looks like after I use my physicality, it goes in the wrong way. That’s what my frustration was. Only a robust whistle tonight.”

“You might be permitting guys to handcheck — let it go on each side then.”

Porzingis mentioned postgame that the Celtics want to seek out methods to capitalize on the truth that the refereeing are letting Orlando gamers get away with contact.

“[They’re] borderline fouling,” he mentioned. “That’s what this, you recognize — borderline fouling and fouling. And a few of it, they name it, after all, and a few of it they don’t. And that’s the way it’s going to be. We now have to just accept the fact.”

To this point this sequence, the Magic have been known as for 63 fouls and the Celtics for 52. Porzingis mentioned he hopes to see the Celtics get away with among the identical bodily contact the Magic have.

“We are able to use that, you recognize?” he mentioned. “It’s not that there’s just one manner. It’s each methods. So we additionally need to, for positive — we will get away with some stuff that, they’re scratching their heads, you recognize?”

Porzingisr completed the sport with 7 factors on 3-10 capturing, and he completed with a +/- of +16. He was visibly disenchanted in his Recreation 3 efficiency: “It stings, man. I’ve to take accountability. I performed like shit.”

“It’s a fairly huge distinction from the common season,” he mentioned. “It’s a must to make that adjustment as a participant and never count on something. You simply go on the market and play by means of contact.”

Brown mentioned a very powerful factor the Celtics can do in response is play their model of basketball.

“That’s the important thing,” he mentioned. “We all know how good we’re and what we will do. However we simply gotta struggle.”

Nonetheless, regardless of the robust whistle and offensive struggles, the Celtics solely fell by 2 factors. They tied issues up with 2 minutes to go, and had an opportunity to tie issues up on the buzzer, although Porzingis couldn’t convert on a go from Derrick White with 0.3 seconds to play.

“We had each alternative to win this recreation and we got here up brief,” Brown mentioned. “However we’ll be prepared for the following one.”