didn’t lose swear or lose his temper. He still wound up watching the end of the game from Boston’s locker room.
Tatum scored 21 points before he was ejected for arguing a foul call near the end of the third quarter, and the Celtics went on without him to beat the depleted Philadelphia 76ers 125-119 on Friday night.
“They were ready. They were ready to throw me out,” Tatum said. “Did I cuss? No, I didn’t. … I was shocked. They always say, ‘Get your money’s worth. You’re going to get fined.’ I definitely did not get my money’s worth.”
The Sixers were without their top two scorers, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. But it was Tatum’s departure that changed the mood in the building.
Boston led by six points in the third and had a 95-91 lead in the final seconds of the quarter when De’Anthony Melton hit a long 3-pointer. Tatum was bringing the ball down along the sideline when he lost control; in the ensuing scramble he hit Robert Covington in the face.
Tatum was whistled for a foul. He voiced a lengthy objection and was ejected when, with Celtics coaches trying to hold him back, he interrupted the referees’ huddle. Tatum had already received a technical in the first half.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said he didn’t have a problem with Tatum showing some fight.
“I actually like it,” Mazzulla said. “I think some of that is important. Obviously, you don’t want it to get in the way of winning. But I think that type of passion and caring, I’d err on the side of I’d rather see that than nothing at all.”
As Tatum left the court, the crowd took over the complaining, showering the officials with a loud chorus of boos. After a review, Tatum’s foul was upgraded to a Flagrant 1; Covington hit the technical free three to tie it at 95.
“I thought I got fouled. I was trying to have a conversation about that play. It was as simple as that,” Tatum said. “I wasn’t that (expletive) mad. Don’t put that narrative out there. … I walked back calmly, I sat in my chair, got some ice. I was not mad. I did not throw anything. I watched the rest of the game. I watched us win.”“Jayson continued to complain and was asked multiple times to head to his bench,” crew chief Bill Kennedy told a pool reporter. “He continued to complain about the foul called on the floor and overtly gestures toward the officials and was assessed a second technical foul.”
