The aftershocks of Jaylen Brown and his feud with officials

Well, clearly, the aftershocks of the Jaylen Brown feud with officials are still being felt.

But now, at least, it's in a good way.

After being ejected in San Antonio last week after he lost his (expletive) when he felt officials missed a call just before halftime, Brown attempted a career-high 21 free throws in the Celtics 120-112 win over the Phoenix Suns last night at TD Garden. Brown attempted 10 free throws in the first quarter and another 10 in the fourth, easily eclipsing his previous career best of 15 free throws in a game against Detroit earlier this season.

Added to a game in which he took 14 free throws at Oklahoma City in his first game after the San Anonion ejection, Brown has now attempted 39 free throws in his last three game, a career-high for any three-game span in his career. Brown has made 36 of those 39 attempts, a whooping 92.3 percent that has raised his percentage for the season to a career-best .792.

Is this all a coincidence? Perhaps ... but unlikely. One can't help but wonder if there was some communications between the league, officials and the Celtiucs (including Brown?) in the aftermath of last week's explosion, which drew criticism of Brown and the officials both. Given that the game between the Celtics and Spurs was a marquee game this regular season played on national television, the NBA and it's broadcast partners were undoubtedly unhappy to see a star player ejected, esppecially when Jayson Tatum was already sidelined for the night during his cautious return from an Achilles injury.