NBA star Jayson Tatum says referees were 'ready to throw me out' of Celtics-Sixers game

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The Boston Celtics have the best record through nearly a quarter of the NBA season. 

The Celtics defeated the Philadelphia 76ers Friday for the team's third consecutive victory. But the team's star player, Jayson Tatum, missed the fourth quarter after he was ejected late in the third quarter. 

The four-time NBA All-Star had a heated exchange with referees in the final moments of the third quarter, prompting officials to throw him out.

After the game, Tatum suggested he was targeted by the game officials.

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Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics is ejected from a game against the Philadelphia 76ers after his second technical foul at TD Garden Dec. 1, 2023, in Boston. The Celtics won 125-119. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

"I was extremely surprised," Tatum said. "Y'all saw what happened. Might not know what I said, but whatever I said doesn't matter at this point. I don't agree with that. One of the assistant coaches was there with me, [he] doesn't agree. But it doesn't really matter. It's like the ref's word against ours. When they throw you out, they throw you out, even if I was right.

"They [were] ready. They [were] ready to throw me out. Did I cuss? No, I didn't. I didn't say a cuss word. If you watch the clips, you can probably read my lips. No hand gestures. Me and Bill [Kennedy] [were] having a conversation, and the other two refs — again, like I said, refs can have an effect on the game. They do have an effect on the outcome."

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Tatum added that, in his experience, referees typically