Marcus Smart was seen talking to refs after Sunday's loss to the Pacers, and it appeared as if things got a bit tense. However, Ime Udoka told reporters after the game Smart said he was apologizing to the refs. If you caught any of NBC Sports Boston's broadcast, you may have heard Smart chirp the refs at one point or another on Sunday.
Smart was assessed with a technical foul during the course of Boston's loss, but he wasn't the only Celtics player to get one. Jaylen Brown was also tagged with one.
He got into it with Goga Bitadze after the Indiana big man hip-checked Brown to the floor. Not only was Brown displeased with Bitadze, but he also took issue with the refs' interpretation of the play.
"They missed a call, it was pretty obvious — they even said it after the game," Brown said after Boston's loss. "They watched it and reviewed it, offensive foul. That's a big dude. I felt like he was trying to put something behind that, trying to send a message. So that's why I was upset. Can't miss a call like that, officiating got me that tech.
"That's how stuff gets escalated, etcetera. You can't let somebody get away with that."
For those keeping track at home, Smart and Brown both have four techs on the season. That's tied for 50th in the NBA and second-most on the team. Jayson Tatum leads the C's with nine. He's tied for 12th in the league. (For those curious, Carmelo Anthony and Luka Doncic lead the NBA in technical fouls with 13 apiece.)
