INDIANAPOLIS — While the Celtics and Pacers battled in Game 4 of the East Finals, there were two instances where Jaylen Brown got the ire of the Indiana crowd. First came during a scuffle with Myles Turner after the Pacers big man was called for an offensive foul on Derrick White. Then came a hard foul on T.J. McConnell where Brown got the guard in the face.
Brown earned a double technical foul with Turner after the skirmish. But there was no flagrant foul on the McConnell play, which got heavy boos from the Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd. Brown explained what happened on the McConnell play, saying there was no ill will as he has a lot of respect for the Pacers guard.
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“I was just going for the ball,” Brown said. “The game is so fast. Just trying to make the play on the ball, and I think I got him on the face a little bit. T.J.’s my guy. I got nothing but respect for T.J. McConnell. We talk throughout the year. We’ve talked even before this series, man. T.J. is a dawg.
“When I said that some of those guys turned into Michael Jordan, T.J. McConnell was who I was talking about. He was one of the more unstoppable players on that team. So I didn’t mean no harm. I got him in the face a little bit, but put a little dirt on it and hopefully it’ll be alright.”
There was more ire during the Turner skirmish. After the big man fouled White hard, Brown gave Turner a small push as he was trying to get to White, who was on the ground. But Turner didn’t take too kindly to that, giving Brown a two-handed shove that knocked him a few steps toward the crowd. Tensions escalated somewhat, but there wasn’t too much extracurricular activities after Turner pushed Brown.
“Myles is a good kid,” Brown said. “Let’s start with that. I think that, throughout the series, he kind of loses control of his body a little bit. Likes to throw his body around. We got the offensive foul but I was just letting him to just watch it. I don’t think it was nothing like crazy.
“I didn’t push him extremely hard, nothing like that. But emotions is high. He feels like he’s at home. He’s got family watching. His girl was probably watching, so he had to do something. But Myles is a good kid. I’ve known Myles for a long time, we’re good friends. It’s all love.”
Regardless, Brown and the C’s will move on from some of those controversial moments. Brown was named the East Finals MVP after the Celtics swept the Pacers.
