Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) drives to the basket against Orlando Magic guard Cory Joseph (10) during the second quarter of game three of first round for the 2024 NBA Playoffs at Kia Center. Mike Watters-Imagn Images

Jaylen Brown warns of 'a fight' in Magic-Celtics series

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Apr 26, 2025 9:26 AM ET

No different from any other postseason, the referees have allowed a physical brand of basketball this year.

The Celtics, who averaged 116.3 points in the regular season, have been contained to just 101.7 points through three games against the Magic. While the young Orlando squad deserves credit for throwing Boston's free-flowing offense off its rhythm, Jaylen Brown has warned officials that a fight might break out if the physicality isn't curtailed.

“There might be a fight break out or something, because it's starting to feel like it's not even basketball, and the refs is not controlling their environment," Brown told reporters. "It is what it is. If we want to fight it out, we can do that. We can fight to see who goes to the second round."

Jaylen Brown was asked by @GwashburnGlobe about how the Celtics can respond to the Magic’s fouls:

“There might be a fighter break out or something. It’s starting to feel like it's not even basketball, and the refs is not controlling their environment.”

“If we want to fight it,… pic.twitter.com/En9T4aUBGH
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) April 26, 2025

Brown was referencing the fact that the Magic have picked three flagrant one fouls in as many games, with the latest incident involving him and Cole Anthony in Friday's Game 3. During the second quarter, Anthony grabbed Brown and pulled him to the floor, causing the latter to grimace in pain after landing awkwardly on his hand.

The 2024 NBA Finals MVP revealed that he dislocated his index finger from the incident but stayed in the game due to the high stakes. Brown would finish with 19 points and six rebounds, but couldn't do enough to stave off Orlando's 95-93 victory in a must-win game.

In Game 2, Kristaps Porzingis was left a bloody mess after being on the receiving end of an elbow to the face from Goga Bitadze. After the incident, Porzingis warned the Magic that he's not going to let them "punk us" and that they were intent on fighting back.

The chippy first-round series continues with Game 4 on Sunday. The Magic can make things very interesting by drawing level before the series shifts back to Boston next week.

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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