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Watch: Celtics’ Jayson Tatum ejected for first time in his career in loss to Knicks
Jayson Tatum finished with just 14 points in Monday's frustrating loss at Madison Square Garden.
It was a frustrating night for Jayson Tatum at Madison Square Garden.
The Celtics star forward sank just six of his 18 field-goal attempts, missed eight shots beyond the arc, and finished with just 14 points in Boston’s 109-94 loss to the Knicks on Monday.
Add in an uneven showing from the referees on a night when his shots weren’t falling, and things finally boiled over for Tatum in New York.
Tatum was ejected for the first time in his career in the closing minutes of Monday’s loss, picking up a second technical foul after complaining with officials over what he thought was a missed call.
Tatum began his back-and-forth with the refs with a little over four minutes left in regulation, objecting to a sequence where he thought he was fouled on a 3-point attempt.
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When New York’s Josh Hart sank a corner three on the Knicks’ subsequent possession, Tatum gave the officials an earful, leading to his eventual exit from the contest.
Monday marks the first time that Tatum was ejected during regular-season play, although he was ejected during a preseason matchup against the Raptors in Montreal earlier this season.
Tatum did manage to add nine assists and seven rebounds to his stat line, but his shooting slump and four turnovers hindered Boston on a night where little seemed to go the C’s way.
As a team, Boston finished just 9-for-42 (21.4 percent) from 3-point range in the loss, including going over 22 minutes without a trey-ball in the first half.
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Tatum (1-for-9 from 3-point range) has been mired in an offensive slump since returning from the NBA All-Star Game last week. Monday marked the second straight game where the potential MVP candidate has been held under 20 points.
Even in his first game back from Salt Lake City, Tatum only connected on nine of his 25 shots in Boston’s OT win over the Pacers last Thursday.
But Boston’s top star kept things light during his postgame presser when asked about what led to his ejection.
“The second [tech], I just told them, ‘This is probably the best officiated game I’ve been a part of.’ I tried to give them a compliment,” Tatum said of his conversations with the officials. “Didn’t go over so well.”
Tatum later took to Twitter, joking that his ejection was a bit of karma after refs missed his potential game-deciding foul on LeBron James last month.
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