The Celtics’ season ended Saturday night in a do-or-die Game 7 against the 76ers that marked Philadelphia’s first playoff series win over Boston in 44 years. Joel Embiid led the charge with 34 points to beat the No. 2-seeded Celtics, 109-100, at TD Garden, helping Philly come back from a 3-1 series deficit for the first time in franchise history.
Not everyone was impressed by Embiid’s big game, though. Celtics star Jaylen Brown, who finished with a team-high 33 points with Jayson Tatum sitting out due to knee stiffness, made some pointed comments about the 76ers big man following the Celtics’ brutal loss.
Brown admitted that his team didn’t “really have an answer” for Embiid before claiming that Embiid was “flopping around” and may have gotten a friendly whistle.
“We tried a bunch of different things, and he just—you know, he’s a big body. He also was flopping around. He got some extra calls and stuff like that and they rewarded him for that. But that’s the league that we’re in. That’s all I got to say,” Brown said.
Jaylen Brown on Joel Embiid:
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) May 3, 2026
"He's a big body. He also was flopping around. He got some extra calls and stuff like that and they rewarded him for that. But that's the league that we're in"
👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/Y9FcCcSD6X
Brown and Embiid were involved a handful of physical plays in Saturday’s game. On one 76ers possession in the third quarter, Brown was seen clapping his hands while trying to defend Embiid and aggressively swiping for the ball. Embiid brushed past him for the lay-up and then delivered some trash-talk to his Eastern Conference rival:
Joel Embiid Jaylen Brown talk pic.twitter.com/Fod1vvrLM4
— Moonball (@moonball30) May 3, 2026
In the fourth quarter, Brown drove into the paint for a layup, drawing a blocking foul from Paul George in the process. As Brown jumped up for the shot, he was bumped in the air by Embiid after the whistle and fell to the court in visible pain. After a review, Embiid received a tech for the contact:
Jaylen Brown falls after a block off the whistle by Joel Embiid, trying to prevent the And-1, and Brown gets up and shakes off the knee injury after some time on the floor (with replays).
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) May 3, 2026
Embiid got a tech upon review. pic.twitter.com/NgtZlgn10X
This is playoff basketball, so it’s only to be expected that Brown and Embiid, each of their team’s respective star players, were jawing at each other all night. The two met up on the court after the Celtics’ loss and shared a short embrace, which would suggest there was no actual beef and they were both just being extremely competitive in an elimination game. However, Brown’s postgame comments seem to take a petty jab at Embiid over what the Celtics star thought was a bit of unnecessary acting in front of the refs.
As for Brown’s thoughts on the Celtics’ season as a whole in light of their early playoff exit, he had a surprisingly positive take:
“This season, what the expectations were and how we came out and we rose to meet that level of uncertainty with this group—there's nothing more I could ask for. I had a great time with my teammates. We played hard. Feel like we left it all out there. Tonight, we came up short,” Brown said.
Asked Jaylen Brown how he looks at failure and success, and whether anything short of a title feels like a failure:
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) May 3, 2026
“It's hard to reflect on it just right now, because it's so fresh from the moment. But, obviously this organization is used to playing later into the season. I… pic.twitter.com/q1l5UA5GI3
Despite the tough loss, Brown looked like his MVP-caliber self and helped will the Celtics back into the game following the team’s slow start. He shot 12-of-27 from the field and 3-of-9 from beyond the arc, adding nine rebounds and four assists.
In the end, Embiid and the 76ers will live to see another series and are set to face the Knicks in the second round. Meanwhile, the Celtics will be looking back at where it all went wrong: coach Joe Mazzulla’s questionable starting lineup decision, Derrick White’s rough playoff performance and some brutal late missed three-pointers, among other storylines from their stunning elimination.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jaylen Brown Calls Out ‘Flopping’ Joel Embiid After Celtics’ Season Ends in Brutal Elimination.
