Nick Kyrgios says referees are 'lucky to still have a job' after Celtics' loss to Pacers due to controversial last-minute play

Nick Kyrgios has taken a potshot at referees following his favorite NBA team Boston Celtics' 133-131 defeat to the Indiana Pacers on Monday (January 8) that saw a series of controversial calls.

Boston Celtics, the top-ranked team in the Eastern Conference, looked on course for their 29th victory of the 2023-24 NBA season after dominating their seventh-placed opponents in the first two quarters. Indiana Pacers, however, launched a scintillating comeback to take the next two quarters.

With the score at a 131-131 deadlock, Celtics guard Jaylen Brown prepared to bounce the ball into the hoop from the three-point line. However, he was stopped due to a foul by Pacers' Buddy Hield.

The courtside referees subsequently called the foul in Boston Celtics' favor. But after a challenge by the Pacers, the call was reversed and possession was awarded to the Indianapolis-based team, with less than four seconds on the clock.

Decisive play soon ensued and within seconds, Celtics' Kristaps Porzingis committed a foul on Pacers' Bennedict Mathurin in a similar fashion to the above challenge. The referees, however, whistled to stop play.

Mathurin made the most of the opportunity, scoring the match-winning three-pointer to hand the Celtics their eighth defeat of the season.

Nick Kyrgios was evidently miffed with how the match transpired. The mercurial Aussie has himself had numerous arguments with umpires during his matches.

In that context, he suggested with a post on social media that umpires and referees were incompetent at their job.

"Lol. Umpires and referees lucky to still have a job in any sport tbh," Nick Kyrgios wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Nick Kyrgios has had numerous run-ins with tennis umpires in the past

There is no love lost between Nick Kyrgios and tennis umpires.

Most tennis fans are well-versed with Nick Kyrgios' troubled relationship with umpires. The Aussie has had numerous on-court meltdowns over calls going against him.

The Aussie's most notorious tirade came during his second-round encounter against Casper Ruud at the 2019 Italian Open. The-then-24-year-old was defaulted from the match after he threw a chair onto the court following a game penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Kyrgios has even directed expletives at umpires in the past. He had an infamous meltdown during his 2021 Washington Open three-set loss to Reilly Opelka, terming a judgment call that cost him a crucial point "bull***t".

Nick Kyrgios and veteran umpire Carlos Bernardes also had a tense back-and-forth during the former's match against Jannik Sinner at the 2022 Miami Open. Not impressed with his officiating and handling of the crowd, the former World No. 13 questioned Bernardes' credibility.

The Spanish umpire handed Kyrgios a point penalty and a game penalty soon after. The Aussie's focus seemingly dwindled amid the dust-up, as he dropped the match in straight sets.