Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla didn’t hold back on criticizing the officiating after a controversial no-call occurred at the end of a 98-96 road loss to the Indiana Pacers on Monday night.
Celtics Coach Joe Mazzulla Rips Refs
During his postgame press conference, Mazzulla repeated the two-word phrase, “Illegal screen,” over and over again after each of the six questions he was asked by reporters.
Mazzulla was referring to Indiana’s final offensive possession in the closing seconds, when Pacers star Pascal 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 victory.
Joe Mazzulla answered every single question with “illegal screen” 😭pic.twitter.com/Qx6Sioyre6
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) 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
Boston also entered the matchup without Jaylen Brown, who was sidelined with low back spasms. Despite Brown’s absence, 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.”
Celtics, Pacers Stirring Up Drama
After Indiana’s 103-95 road loss to the Celtics on Dec. 22, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle told reporters that he wanted the NBA to review a questionable play from the first quarter involving big man Isaiah Jackson and Celtics center Neemias Queta.
Queta elbowed Jackson twice in the face while attempting a shot under the basket, forcing the 23-year-old out of the game as he was evaluated for a concussion.
“I don’t know what the exact rule is,” Carlisle said after the defeat. “I think it was 4:30 or 4:32 to go in the first quarter, there was a play where Jackson gets elbowed by Queta and then simultaneously gets elbowed a second time.
“Then he has to go out of the game for concussion observation and then was unable to return. I hope the league looks at that. That was a play that I felt should have been looked at in real time. It did not appear to be accidental, and it’s very dangerous.”
Jackson played just two minutes off the bench in last month’s matchup.
NBA Fined Jalen Brown For Ref Criticism
The Celtics have had recent issues with officiating.
Earlier Monday, Brown was fined $35,000 by the NBA after he criticized the officiating following the team’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.
The Celtics shot four free throws and he shot none.
“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 never grew their lead larger than nine points on Monday, and they dropped to 8-12 in clutch games. The C’s ranks third in the Eastern Conference standings at 24-15.
Boston visits the Heat on Thursday.
