NBA Report Proves Jaylen Brown’s Innocence After Celtics Star Makes Amends For Nasty TJ McConnell Foul

The recently concluded Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals saw the Boston Celtics recording a fourth consecutive win against the Indiana Pacers. As a result, they will now head to the NBA Finals after a one-year hiatus. While shooting guard Jaylen Brown led the scoring effort, he also created a bit of controversy during the matchup. The same occurred during the 4th quarter. The player accidentally hit Pacers point guard TJ McConnell right in the face after the latter grabbed a rebound. A call was made that Brown should be given a ‘flagrant foul’ and ejected from the game. The referees instead decided to hand the player a common foul. Amidst the boos of the crowd at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, more clarity needed to be given on why this decision was made.

A few hours ago, the NBA released the official Pool Report on the incident. According to it, when the question was placed before Crew Chief Zach Zarba about the decision to not call Brown’s actions a ‘flagrant foul’, the official replied “After review, Brown is following the arch of the ball, making a play on the basketball during the rebounding action. There is no wind up and there is no follow through with the contact to McConnell. We feel that it was unfortunate, but it did not rise to the level of a flagrant foul.” Through this, he concluded that the Celtics star was attempting to get a hold of the ball, but he missed and instead ended up unintentionally hitting McConnell.

Prior to the release of these details, Jaylen Brown himself addressed the issue during a post-game presser. He also confirmed that he was merely going for the ball and had no intention of engaging in a physical action with the Pacers star.

“The game is so fast, just trying to make a play on the ball and I think I got him in the face a little bit” said the 3x NBA All-Star. “TJ is my guy, I’ve got nothing but respect for TJ McConnell”. Brown further stated that he has often praised McConnell’s prowess, even comparing him with the likes of Michael Jordan. While admitting his mistake, he hoped that the player would be all right.

Jaylen Brown received a technical foul for engaging in a brawl with Myles Turner

Jaylen Brown hitting TJ McConnell on the face may have been unintentional. However, that wasn’t the only physical incident that the player was a part of during Game 4. Back in the 3rd quarter, the Pacers were leading by a score of 69-67. Myles Turner, 28 years old, pushed Celtics player Derrick White. Turner was attempting to defend White. Within the blink of an eye, Jaylen Brown approached Turner. Turner was walking away. Brown gave Turner a small push on the shoulder. This caused Turner to turn back (pun not intended), and repeat the action in a more aggressive manner. The referee came between the rivals and awarded both of them a technical foul. However, this didn’t stop them from exchanging a couple of unpleasant words with each other.

During the same post-game presser, Brown was also asked about his altercation with Turner. However, the Celtics star did not give out a response in the same manner as he did when talking about TJ McConnell. He called Turner a “good kid”, despite the fact that the Pacers player is exactly 7 months older. Brown further claimed that his rival often “loses control of his body” and that his shoulder push was just a way to remind the player to watch it.

“He feels like he’s at home, his family is watching” said the Eastern Conference Finals MVP. “His girl is probably watching, and he had to do something. I’ve known Myles for a long time. … It’s all love.”

Do you believe that Jaylen Brown should have been given the flagrant foul? Let us know in the comments down below.