BOSTON — Jayson Tatum was not mad. Don’t put that narrative out there.

At the end of the third quarter of the Boston Celtics’ hideously spectacular 125-119 win Friday over the Philadelphia 76ers, Tatum didn’t like a call. He went to, um, fervently discuss the matter with officiating crew chief Bill Kennedy, then a few moments later was tossed from the game.

Advertisement

It was a fascinating scene, as Kennedy called over assistant coach Charles Lee in an apparent attempt to get Tatum to stop complaining. But after a moment of Lee trying to usher Tatum away, the Celtics star said something that got the two other officials to immediately toss Tatum simultaneously.

Kennedy was walking away to go initiate a flagrant review while he let Tatum keep venting, but Tatum seemed to say some magic words in his direction that triggered the quick ejection from the other refs.

Jayson Tatum ejected vs. Sixers

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) December 2, 2023

Tatum looked … let’s go with mildly irritated … when he was kicked out, but he eventually left for the locker room.

“Again, I wasn’t that f—ing mad. Don’t put that narrative out there,” Tatum said. “I didn’t throw nothing. I said what I said. There was no magic words.”

Maybe he is telling the truth. Maybe he is bringing to life one of the greatest tweets of all time.

and another thing: im not mad. please dont put in the newspaper that i got mad.

— wint (@dril) December 29, 2014

Tatum wasn’t mad. But even after cooling off from everything, he had a theory.

“I don’t know. Maybe they didn’t want me to play tonight,” Tatum said. “They was eager to get me out of there. I walked back calmly, I sat in my chair, got some ice. I was not mad, I didn’t throw anything. It was like a joke. I had to laugh it off. So no, I didn’t cry, I didn’t throw anything. I got my ice and watched the rest of the game, watched us win.”

It must be heartwarming for fans in comment sections across the land to know that Tatum was also an NBA conspiracy theorist Friday night, though ejecting the biggest star from a national game already missing the MVP doesn’t quite check out.

Either way, this game was as chaotic as it was spectacular. Pat Beverly had the game of his life with Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid out sick. Payton Pritchard was the leading scorer in the fourth quarter and hit a wide-open layup to ice the game. This was a Dril tweet of a game.

Advertisement

The Celtics have gotten by with everyone on their roster missing time, but they haven’t been tested without Tatum. He rarely misses games. He loathes resting. He certainly is not fond of getting ejected.

No matter what’s going on out there, the team has always counted on Tatum to seize control in crunchtime. But as the lead slipped away early in the fourth quarter, coach Joe Mazzulla couldn’t just call Tatum off the bench and tell him to settle things down. The team had to figure things out without the guy who can do it all, and they needed to find a spark somehow.

“Nah, he didn’t have to get ejected. I’d rather have him on the court. I think it’s just being consistent, getting back to what we do as a team,” Jrue Holiday said. “We know there are going to be lows, we know we’re not always going to play the way we want to play. But just know that we can bounce back from that and handle the runs, handle the times they hit us in the mouth. I think we did a good job of that and won an ugly game.”

The turnaround started when Al Horford finally found his bounce. Horford, and really everyone on the team, had been blown by or barrelled through multiple times throughout the night. But after a turnover kick-started a Tobias Harris fast break, Horford finally asserted his authority on defense.

NOPE x2 🚫🚫

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 2, 2023

“I feel like we had a choice. At that point in time, we could’ve folded or found an excuse,” Horford said. “I feel like our group, we rallied together and understood that we just needed to keep competing and find a way to win. We’re in a grind. Those guys are playing inspired basketball. We needed to find a way.”

With Tatum out, everyone had to go all out for the win. Philadelphia was overwhelming with its physicality and was getting great shot creation from Beverly and De’Anthony Melton before he fouled out.

Advertisement

“I feel like the second half we responded and it was much better, but once you get a team going like that it’s kind of hard to cool them off,” Horford said. “They were confident, they were playing, and it was one of these games that we had to find a way to win. And I’m glad we won because it would have been just awful if we would have lost this game.”

It started with Horford locking in. It finished with Pritchard pushing to the end.

PAYTON

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 2, 2023

“That’s the guy. That’s Payton,” Mazzulla said. “That’s why he’s so competitive. That’s why he does what he does. And that’s why no matter what happens, you can always rely on him. And so what he did tonight is exactly what I expect from him every time his name is called.”

It was fitting that the Celtics clinched the game by passing the ball to the very end of the shot clock and finding their smallest guy for the easiest layup. Pritchard struggled through being a benchwarmer last season. Then Friday night, he was the one closing the game out.

“Just to help these guys win, to play with the team and win at home and just continue going,” Pritchard told The Athletic. “So that’s all I wanted is just to play and help winning. It’s that simple.”

Tatum makes things easy because he can consistently draw two defenders and move the ball. But the team needed a reminder that it can win in any way with anyone.

“Yeah, throughout the game we didn’t necessarily play well or up to our standards,” Tatum said. “I love the way that we still figured out a way to win the game.”

Well, they figured out a way to win the game. That’s exactly what they needed.

(Photo of Payton Pritchard celebrating a 3-pointer in the second half Friday against Philadelphia: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)