Things got more than a little heated during Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics.
And, no, the drama wasn’t between those two teams – it was between a coach and a referee.
Boston’s head coach, Ime Udoka, was hit with a technical foul in the first quarter of the game after he complained about a call and was outside of the coach’s box on the sidelines.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
During a timeout in the fourth quarter, ref Tony Brothers was seen yelling at the Udoka on the Celtics bench.
Some people even said the two had to be separated.
Ime Udoka said Tony Brothers "didn't like how I pointed at him."
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) June 14, 2022
Asked about the incident after the game, Udoka put it simply, saying Brothers, “didn’t like how I pointed at him.”
Apparently not.
It’s rare to see a referee have such a reaction during a game but it’s obvious that tensions are high for everyone right now, not just players and coaches.
Technical Town
Udoka avoided getting a second technical during the verbal spat between him and Brothers late in the game.
That is good news for Boston because a second T would have kicked Udoka out.
But he wasn’t the only one to earn a technical foul.
Marcus Smart got a T after that troubled timeout.
Some fans of the Celtics said that Brothers’ mind was still on his dust-up with Udoka when he dished it out to Smart.
Whatever the reason, the Celtics had problems larger than the officiating on Monday.
Udoka would later admit that too much time and drama was devoted to the refs and said it was something that should be avoided moving forward.
However, if Game 6 is as rough for the Celtics as Game 5 was, don’t expect to see Udoka stay silent on the sidelines.
NEXT: Celtics HC Comments On His Team's Slow Start In Game 5