Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum. Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Celtics make bizarre NBA history in loss to Bucks

By Sai Mohan | Last updated 4/10/24

In case you haven't noticed, the 2023-24 Celtics shoot a lot of threes. The C's are attempting a league-high 42.6 threes per game this season, three more than the second-placed Mavericks.

Boston's "live-and-die-by-the-three" formula has worked for the most part, save for the few nights when it has backfired.

Tuesday's loss to the Bucks was one of them. A whopping 52 of Boston's 93 field goal attempts were from beyond the arc, as the team continued to resort to the long ball even when the shots were not falling (the Celtics hit just 17 of those 52 three-point attempts, 32.7%).

But that's not why Joe Mazzulla's squad made history.

The Celtics on Tuesday became the first NBA team in history to go an entire game without attempting a free throw. They broke the previous record set by the 2013-14 Grizzlies and 2017-18 Hawks who attempted just one free throw in a game, per ESPN Stats & Information.

The Celtics are the first team in NBA history to shoot 0 free throws in a game. pic.twitter.com/8viHNu5UVf
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 10, 2024

Surprisingly, Boston's zero foul shot attempts were not for a lack of trying. The Celtics took 21 shots at the rim but the referees refused to give them the benefit of the doubt — for whatever reason. Furthermore, the only shooting foul called against Milwaukee was overturned due to a challenge.

In fairness to the officials, it's not like they were sending Milwaukee's players to the charity stripe, either. The Bucks attempted only two free throws and made one.

The two combined free throw attempts in the game shattered the previous record of 11, set by the Pacers and Magic in their game on Nov. 10, 2019.

Many believe Tuesday's game was a precursor of what to expect in the upcoming playoffs, where referees tend to swallow their whistle and allow players to get physical. After the game, Celtics star Jayson Tatum acknowledged that the referees were already in playoff mode.

"Just another day in the NBA," Tatum said. "Maybe they [referees] are just gearing up for the playoffs. They're going to let a lot of things go, I guess just getting us ready for playoff basketball."

Jayson Tatum reacts to the Celtics becoming the first team in NBA history to not shoot a free throw in a game ️ pic.twitter.com/oEsasTf4FU
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) April 10, 2024