Mazzulla: Missed foul call on Giannis against Tatum was ‘ridiculous’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Jayson Tatum gave Boston Celtics fans a scare when he sprained his ankle in the third quarter of Sunday’s win over the Milwaukee Bucks. He landed on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s foot on a three-point attempt, although no landing zone foul was called on the Bucks star.
Fortunately for the C’s, Tatum shook off the injury and stayed in the game. Still, C’s head coach Joe Mazzulla wasn’t too happy that Antetokounmpo wasn’t called for a flagrant foul.
“That’s ridiculous,” Mazzulla said of the missed call during his post-match press conference. ‘I can’t miss that. I can’t miss that.’
Tatum echoed Mazzulla’s sentiments and expressed his frustration over the non-callup.
“Your job is to protect the boys on the field. I could have been out for six weeks,” he said. “For it to be a no-call… that (expletive) is frustrating.”
He also used social media to criticize the officiating officer.
“Smfh some calls you just can’t miss,” he wrote on X.
Tatum propelled Boston to a 113-107 victory with 31 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. Mazzulla praised his star, adding that the referees acknowledged they had missed the call.
“He didn’t let it affect the rest of the game on either end of the floor,” Mazzulla said. “But the referees did a great job. They knew they missed it. … But credit to (Tatum) for handling it the right way.”
Tatum has now scored at least 30 points in seven of 11 games this season. He is playing at an MVP level with 30.5 points (47.8 percent FG), 7.2 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game.
The Celtics improved to 9-2 with the win. The Bucks now sit at a dismal 2-8, leaving them tied with the Toronto Raptors for 14th place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Boston will look to earn its third consecutive win when it hosts the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday for the first game of the 2024 NBA Cup. Tip-off for that game is scheduled for 7:00 PM ET on NBC Sports Boston.
