Jaylen Brown did not need many words. Just seven of them, posted from the locker room before halftime had even ended. The Boston Celtics star was ejected in the second quarter of Tuesday’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs, and his reaction, both on the court and on social media.
Jaylen Brown Ejected, Takes to X as Teammates and Joe Mazzulla Back Him
The flashpoint came with 3:38 remaining in the second quarter. Brown was shoved by Spurs guard Stephon Castle with no foul called, and his frustration spilled over immediately. He ran back on defense, screaming at referee Tyler Ford, who gave him a moment before assessing the first technical.
Brown began walking away, then turned back around and had to be restrained by teammates, prompting umpire Suyash Mehta to issue the second technical and send him to the locker room. It was only the second ejection of Brown’s career.
Minutes later, Brown posted on X: “This the s*** I be talking about.”
In a post-game pool report, Ford explained his side. On the first technical: “For aggressively pointing and using profanity and resentment to the no-call.” On the second: “He aggressively approached a game official while pointing and using profanity.” On why no foul was called: “In live play, we did not observe any illegal contact.”
Head coach Joe Mazzulla was not buying it. He took a pointed shot at the officiating hierarchy in his postgame remarks. “I just give a ton of credit to my high school principal,” Mazzulla said. “He had the balls to throw a student out. He didn’t leave it to the hall monitor.”
The implication was clear: Ford, who had the direct confrontation with Brown, did not call the second technical; Mehta did from across the court.
Mazzulla did not stop there. “I understand completely where Jaylen was coming from, absolutely. I’ve got his back. I think he was 100% right to be frustrated and do what he did.”
The sentiment in the locker room was unified as well.
Derrick White, who led the Celtics with 34 points in the loss, called the second technical outright “ridiculous.” “He thought he got fouled. I think he got fouled, too,” White said. “He definitely earned the first one, I thought the second one was bulls**t, honestly. It’s a passionate game, a high-level game. I think that was ridiculous.”
Jayson Tatum added a broader dimension to the criticism. “The NBA makes a big deal about prime time games and stars playing and being available,” he said.
“The first tech was probably warranted, emotions are high. But the second tech, you gotta understand it’s a national TV game, two of the best teams in the league. You get trigger-happy to throw somebody out of the game. I disagree with it,” Tatum added.
Brown had been in dominant form before his exit, putting up 8 points, 7 assists, 2 rebounds, and a steal in just 15 minutes.
The Celtics, already without Payton Pritchard and Nikola Vucevic through injury, played the majority of the second half shorthanded. Boston trailed by just one heading into the fourth quarter before fading to a 125-116 defeat.
This was not Brown’s first run-in with officials this season. In January, he was fined $35,000 after publicly criticizing a crew following an earlier loss to the Spurs. Clearly, the frustration has not gone away.
