NEW YORK — A frustrating night for Jayson Tatum ended early, as the Boston Celtics superstar was given a second technical foul and his first career ejection with 3 minutes, 46 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of a 109-94 New York Knicks victory on Monday at a sold-out Madison Square Garden.
«I don't know,» Tatum said, when asked what led him to get ejected in this game, compared to past times he already had a technical foul.
Then, he smiled.
«But all the great players get thrown out a few times in their career,» he said. «So, it's good for my rep.»
Tatum had spent most of the game frustrated, as he not only was unhappy with the way the whistle was going toward him — he took just one free throw, a technical foul shot — but he also finished the game 6-for-18 from the field.
But after picking up his first technical with 44 seconds to go in the third quarter for taking exception to the lack of a foul call on a dunk, he reacted to the lack of a foul call on a missed 3-point attempt with a dose of sarcasm that would've made a native New Yorker proud and that earned him an early trip to the showers.
«It's tough,» Tatum said. «The first one, no call. If you look, it was clearly a foul. And those are the ones that's tough. You get a tech for something that you probably was right about. [On the] second one, I just told him this was probably the best officiated game I've been a part of.
»I tried to give him a compliment. Didn't go over so well."
Asked again about that line, Tatum said, «I said it was the best officiated game I've been a part of. I meant it.»
The Celtics, as a whole, were not thrilled with how the game went from an officiating standpoint, after New York finished with a 34-14 edge in free throws attempted.
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