Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum appears to be taking his first career ejection pretty well after an atrocious shooting performance in Monday night’s loss to the New York Knicks.
After Julius Randle aggressively contested Tatum’s ninth and final 3-point attempt in the fourth quarter, the 24-year-old was soon making his way to the Celtics’ locker room. Tatum, as he did after receiving his first technical foul in the third quarter, voiced his displeasure with one of the NBA officials. And that earned him his first-ever career ejection.
“I just told him, ‘This was probably the best-officiated game I’ve been a part of.’ Trynna give him a compliment,” Tatum said postgame, as seen on NBC Sports Boston’s postgame coverage. “Didn’t go over so well.”
But Tatum wasn’t done there, firing off a tweet to share a comical LeBron James-related theory for what earned him the ejection.
“Lol this what I get for fouling Bron,” Tatum tweeted shortly after the 109-94 loss at Madison Square Garden.
A month ago, Tatum got away with a foul on James — much to the dismay of the Laker star — as he attempted a game-winning layup at the end of regulation.
Tatum, much like the entire Celtics’ offense, fell flat against a subpar Knicks squad.
Boston’s go-to star scored just 14 points, shooting just 6-of-18 from the field while connecting on one shot from beyond the arc. This came after Tatum entered the night averaging 30.5 points in two previous matchups this season when facing the Knicks.
Meanwhile, the Celtics connected on just 9-of-42 attempts from beyond the arc to cap off a rough sight to end their road trip.
Tatum and the C’s will seek a bounce-back performance when they return to TD Garden to face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night. Tip off between the Eastern Conference rivals is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
