Pushed came to shove for Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum on Wednesday night at the TD Garden.
Tatum seemingly shoved a referee during the Celtic’s 121-87 blowout win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Maybe Tatum was still upset following an incident during Monday’s Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series.
With just over five minutes left, Tatum was trailing the play on Malcolm Brogdon’s layup that put the Celtics up by two when P.J. Tucker swung his hand back and made contact with Tatum.
Tatum fell on the ground and rolled over in pain. Once he was able to get up, he stepped off the floor and into the tunnel for a brief break. He returned and finished the game.
The play was not reviewed, and Tucker was not assessed for a technical foul. Tatum could have easily been given a technical foul for contact with a ref on Wednesday, but he did not.
Whatever was on his mind, Tatum was terrible in Game 2. He finished the game with seven points, seven rebounds and three assists. He was only 1-of-7 from the field, even going 0-of-5 on three-point attempts.
