Watch: Jaylen Brown gets heated after refs eject him from the bench vs Knicks
Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics were trying to hold off the New York Knicks at home on Friday. Boston had been leading most of the way but the visitors mounted a run starting the fourth quarter. Behind Jayson Tatum, Kristaps Porzingis and Derrick White, the Celtics eventually walked away with the win. It didn’t end without any controversy, though.
Boston held a 119-107 advantage when Brown was called for a foul on Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley. The All-Star guard couldn’t hold back and complained that the ref should call the same way on both ends of the floor. He was given a technical foul for his comments.
While Quickley made the free throw following the technical foul, Brown sat on the bench but still kept talking. The referee had had enough and did this:
Jaylen Brown promptly stood up to confront the official but was held back by Joe Mazzulla, teammates, security personnel and the two other referees. He was furious on the baseline for the ejection.
Former Celtic player and fan-favorite Brian Scalabrine who was calling the game, couldn’t hold back his disbelief:
"They just booted him? From the bench? Come on...That's not, come on, that's not a second tech. No way. No way. That's not worth a guy getting thrown out of a game for."
The New York Knicks won the fourth quarter, 28-24, the only period they won in the game. Boston did just enough to prevent Jaylen Brown’s ejection from turning into a horrible result for the team. Friday night was the third meeting between the two teams. Their fourth and last encounter will be on Feb. 24.
Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics will have a tough schedule until Christmas
The Boston Celtics will face a murderer’s row of opponents starting on Tuesday. They will take on the Cleveland Cavaliers in back-to-back games at TD Garden. Boston will remain at home when they square off with the Orlando Magic, a team that has given them trouble since last season.
After the Magic game, they will go on a four-game Western Conference trip starting with a game against the Golden State Warriors on Dec. 19. The Sacramento Kings, LA Clippers and then LA Lakers on Christmas will cap off their brutal schedule.
The game against LeBron James’ team is arguably the NBA’s biggest draw during the said day. It’s a match that could turn out to be a preview of a mouthwatering final.