Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics are back in order.
In addition to his earlier outstanding play for Boston, the 24-year-old scored 27 points on Monday night’s 126-122 victory for the Celtics, continuing his MVP-caliber start to the 2022–23 season.
According to Gary Washburn, the NBA will overturn the contentious technical penalty that Boston Celtics player Jayson Tatum received during his team’s victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night.
Tatum was penalized for blocking early in the second quarter while attempting to cover Thunder forward Aleksej Pokuevski. He missed a layup on the other end shortly before the call, and he clapped his hands in disgust at himself more than anything else. However, the referees disagreed, and Tatum received a technical foul.
Tatum only appeared to clap his hands in frustration; he didn’t appear to do much to merit a tech. The Celtics star maintained during the game that he was more frustrated with himself because he had missed a layup on Boston’s previous possession.
Tatum told reporters, “Anyone in the arena, anybody watching the game, could’ve seen I was furious with myself.” You can laugh it off when you watch it after the game since I didn’t say anything and I didn’t look at him.
While the broadcast grumbled about the referee’s excessive reaction, Tatum peered around in shock. Even Brooklyn Nets player Kevin Durant offered his opinion on the matter. Jayson Tatum just received the worst tech I’ve seen in the NBA in a while, and I’m laughing, Durant wrote on Twitter.
Tatum would have had four in 14 games without his technical. It’s excellent news for Tatum that his most recent is being taken away because a player who receives 16 technical fouls in a season is suspended for one game.
Tatum is a regular complainer, so it’s possible that the league made this decision to protect his reputation. The league has started to penalize players who make expressive motions toward the officials. But it’s obvious he was angrier with himself than anything else, and the referee erred in this case.
Fortunately, the call didn’t cost Tatum and the Celtics anything. Tatum continued to play and aided the Celtics’ comeback in the final frame. In the fourth quarter, he scored 10 of his 26 points, helping the Celtics overturn a 15-point deficit and win their eighth straight game. The Celtics now lead the league with an 11-3 record.