Kevin Durant, Ja Morant react to comical technical foul called on Jayson Tatum
BOSTON -- Jayson Tatum has a slight reputation for having a penchant for arguing with referees. While he certainly has gotten in the ear of a referee or two during his career, one moment on Monday night was not one of those times.
During the Celtics' game against the Thunder, Tatum reacted in frustration after committing a foul, clapping his hands together and looking up to the sky. Feeling personally offended by this move, referee John Goble assessed a technical foul to Tatum.
Even by NBA standards, it was incredible.
While Celtics fans (and broadcasters) couldn't believe it, neither could fellow NBA stars.
"Jayson Tatum just received the worst tech I've seen in the NBA in a while," Kevin Durant tweeted. "I'm actually laughing."
Grizzlies star Ja Morant was watching too, and also couldn't believe it.
Despite the tech, Tatum was able to have another excellent game, scoring 27 points with 10 rebounds in the Celtics' 126-122 victory over Oklahoma City. It was Boston's seventh straight victory to improve to an NBA best 11-3, with Tatum averaging 33.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game during that streak.
"I think I just missed a layup and I just committed a foul," Tatum said with a smile after the game. "So I was like, anybody in the arena, anybody watching the game could've seen that I was frustrated with myself. I didn't say anything, I didn't look at him. So you know, after the game, you just laugh it off when you see it."
Certainly, Tatum wasn't alone in doing that.
UPDATE: The NBA has done the right thing and rescinded the technical foul.
