NBA Has Punishment Decision to Make on Celtics Star Jaylen Brown

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Paolo Songco | Last updated Nov 4, 2025 6:02 AM ET

Key Points:

Jaylen Brown scored 36 points, but the Boston Celtics lost 105-103 to the Utah Jazz.
Brown criticized referees postgame, calling the non-foul “unacceptable” and using profanity.
Brown could face an NBA fine for public criticism and profane language about officiating.

After stacking up three straight wins, Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics have now suffered back-to-back losses. Their latest defeat comes at the hands of the Utah Jazz, who stole away a 105-103 victory at TD Garden courtesy of a Jusuf Nurkic putback at the buzzer.

Brown did all he could for the Celtics in this one, finishing with a game-high 36 points on 13-of-28 shooting, to go along with two rebounds, four assists and two steals in 38 minutes of action. The four-time All-Star went 0-of-9 from beyond the arc, but he was able to make 10 out of his 11 attempts from the charity stripe.

Boston Celtics guard/forward Jaylen Brown (7) during an NBA game. © Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

Brown has been on a tear for the Celtics this season as Jayson Tatum continues to rehab an Achilles injury. Entering Monday’s game, the former NBA Finals MVP averaged 25.4 points on 53.7% shooting, 4.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.7 triples per game. He had been shooting the lights out from distance, making 46.3% of his attempts from deep. Brown, however, came crashing back down to earth on Monday.

One of the most contentious moments in the tightly contested matchup came in the final minute of action. Jazz guard Keyonte George slipped right in front of Brown as the latter attempted to make his move to the basket. Brown tripped on George’s body, which resulted in the Celtics star turning the ball over.

No foul was called on the sequence.

This wasn't called a trip pic.twitter.com/V9VEc6vrmT
— Danielle Hobeika (@DanielleHobeika) November 4, 2025

Brown was asked about the incident in his postgame press conference, and the 6-foot-6 forward did not hold back with his criticism of the referees. The Celtics star said that it was “unacceptable” that the game officials did not call a foul. He also stated that it was some “bull[expletive],” per Celtics reporter Zack Cox of the Boston Herald.

Brown made his feelings abundantly clear. However, the fact that he used profanity could warrant a fine from the NBA. The league will very likely review Brown’s statement here, and they could decide to hit him with some form of punishment.

For context, Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards was fined $75,000 last season for "public criticism of the officiating and using inappropriate and profane language." This was after Edwards said that the refs were “[expletive] terrible” after Minnesota’s loss to the Golden State Warriors.

As for Brown and the Celtics, Monday’s defeat saw them fall to 3-5 on the season. They return to action on Wednesday in a home game against the Washington Wizards.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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