Jaylen Brown was disappointed with the end of the Celtics’ matchup against the Jazz. Winslow Townson / Getty Images

By Jay King

Nov. 3, 2025Updated Nov. 4, 2025 8:58 am EST

BOSTON – Jaylen Brown believed the officiating crew cost the Boston Celtics a game Monday night, but referee Kevin Scott explained what led to a no-call on the play that left Brown furious after his team’s 105-103 loss to the Utah Jazz.

With less than a minute left, the Celtics were hoping to build on a one-point lead when Brown lost the ball while tripping over Jazz guard Keyonte George. The turnover led to a go-ahead Lauri Markannen basket in transition. Brown said it was unacceptable that the referees did not call George for a foul on the play.

“Man, y’all going to get me fined,” Brown said. “Because you can’t have a mistake like that as an official at that point in the game. It’s (the) fourth quarter. There’s a minute left in the game or less. And you completely – the whole staff blows the f—ing call, you know what I mean? It cost us the game. Unacceptable.”

After the game, Scott, the crew chief, explained the reasoning behind the no-call. In a pool report, Scott said his crew believed that the ball popped loose before any contact on the play.

The reason given for the no-call: “Because the crew observed both players slip and fall prior to any contact. That’s why a foul was not called during live play.” https://t.co/Ob7rrBip1q

— Jay King (@ByJayKing) November 4, 2025

“During live play, the crew observed George slip and fall just prior to Brown slipping on the same spot, resulting in the ball becoming loose prior to any contact,” Scott said.

Scott was asked whether he had a chance to look at the play again after the game and if that was still his view of it.

“That’s still my view after being on the floor in live play,” Scott said.

Scott added that George was not called for a foul “because the crew observed both players slip and fall prior to any contact.”

“That’s why a foul was not called during live play,” Scott reiterated.

Though the Celtics would later tie the game on a Neemias Queta free throw, a Jusuf Nurkic putback basket with 0.6 seconds left gave the Jazz the win. Boston had one last possession to tie or win the game, but Brown was called for an offensive foul during the inbounds pass.

It was still the no-call on George that left Brown frustrated after the game.

“You can make mistakes at any point of the game, but right there, that wasn’t good,” Brown said. “That wasn’t good. That was unacceptable. And then they’re telling me like, ‘Ah, we didn’t see it.’ How did none of you see it? You can’t trip somebody in the fourth quarter and then just be a no-call. It’s some bulls—.”

NBA Referee Kevin Scott comments to a pool reporter after tonight’s Utah at Boston gamehttps://t.co/3Fevg1Id8J

— NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) November 4, 2025

Nov 4, 2025

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Jay King is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Boston Celtics. He previously covered the team for MassLive for five years. He also co-hosts the “Anything Is Poddable” podcast. Follow Jay on Twitter @byjayking