Brad Stevens and Jaylen Brown were called for technical fouls back-to-back late in the third quarter of Game 4 between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers on Monday.
Jaylen Brown was called for his fifth foul while defending Irsan Elyasova with just over three minutes remaining in the quarter. Brown thought he would need to exit the game, but Stevens told him to stay in. Brown got whistled for a tech. Shortly thereafter, Stevens was also called for a tech.
Marco Belinelli shot both technical free throws for the Sixers and made them to push Philly’s lead to nine. Ilyasova making his shot plus the free throw as well as the techs really helped swing things in the Sixers’ favor.
When so many calls like that go against a team in sequence, it leads people to start questioning whether officials are trying to extend a series. Boston entered Game 4 with a 3-0 lead.
