The NBA sided with Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla on Tuesday, acknowledging in its Last Two Minutes Report that Indiana Pacers star Pascal Siakam did set an illegal screen ahead of his game-winning shot on Monday.
Joe Mazzulla Repeated Two-Word Response
During his postgame interview, Mazzulla appeared frustrated over the controversial no-call, answering all six questions he was asked by reporters with the same two words: “illegal screen.”
Mazzulla was referring to Indiana’s final offensive possession in the closing seconds, when Siakam set a screen at the top of the 3-point arc, causing Boston’s Derrick White to lose his balance.
Siakam got the ball back from Andrew Nembhard, pump-faked, and stepped inside the foul line for the go-ahead shot that banked through with 6.1 seconds to give the Pacers the 98-96 victory.
The L2M for the qualifying game played yesterday has been posted on https://t.co/cuOspJGQdY.
— NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) January 13, 2026
Joe Mazzulla, in response to all six postgame media questions: "Illegal screen."
Here's Indiana's final bucket, where Pascal Siakam set a screen behind Derrick White, then backed him down in the paint for the game-sealing floater: pic.twitter.com/YlEVGFaRpl
— Gio Rivera (@GioJRivera) January 13, 2026
In its Last Two Minutes Report, the league deemed it an incorrect non-call on Siakam.
“Siakam is late to establish a screening position in White’s path and does not give him the time or distance to change direction and avoid the contact during the pick,” the NBA said.
Boston was also missing Jaylen Brown, who was out with low back spasms.
Although the Celtics were without Brown, it was a winnable game against a team that hadn’t won three straight games this season until Monday.
“I don’t know,” Payton Pritchard told reporters after the loss. “He made the shot. Maybe certain calls could have been made, but he made a bank shot — a tough shot — so you’ve got to live with that. Good defense.
“We had good shots at the start of the second half. We just missed them, and we’ll be better.”
NBA Fined Jaylen Brown For Criticizing Refs
The Celtics have had recent issues with officiating.
Brown criticized refs following the team’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday, when the Celtics shot only four free throws. The NBA fined Brown $35,000 on Monday.
“I’ll accept the fine at this point,” Brown said. “I think they’re a good defensive team, but they ain’t that damn good. I hope somebody can just pull up the clips, because it’s the same (expletive) every time we play a good team. It’s like they refuse to make a call then call touch fouls on the other end.”
Boston’s offense has now been held to 40 points in the second half of back-to-back games. It marked the first time this season that Mazzulla’s offense was held to under 100 points in consecutive games.
The Celtics visit the Heat on Thursday.
