NEW YORK (AP) – Jayson Tatum was gone a few minutes before the Boston Celtics relinquished the top spot in the NBA, thrown out of a game for the first time in his career.
The referees frustrated the All-Star forward. New York’s defence caused the frustration for the rest of the Celtics.
“It wasn’t our best night shooting the ball,” forward Al Horford said. “They were the better team tonight.”
Julius Randle and Immanuel Quickley each scored 23 points, and the surging Knicks knocked Boston out of the top spot in the overall NBA standings with their sixth straight victory, 109-94 yesterday.
Tatum struggled through a six-for-18 shooting performance and was ejected in the fourth quarter after picking up his second technical foul. He finished with 14 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.
Jalen Brunson added 17 points for the Knicks (36-27), who inched ahead of Brooklyn into fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
“We’re in a good place but with a lot of work to do,” Brunson said.
Malcolm Brogdon scored 22 for the Celtics (44-18), who were missing All-Star Jaylen Brown due to personal reasons. They slipped percentage points behind Milwaukee (43-17), which has won 14 straight games and now owns the NBA’s best record.
Marcus Smart added 19 points but Boston missed 20 of its first 22 attempts from three-point range and had its three-game winning streak snapped. Tatum beat the 76ers on Sunday in Philadelphia with a three-pointer with 1.3 seconds left for a 110-107 victory, but couldn’t get his outside shot going on Monday.
He missed his first six three-point tries and finished one for nine behind the arc.
Even when he got inside, things didn’t work out. Mitchell Robinson stuffed his dunk attempt in the first half, and Tatum’s driving dunk in the third quarter was followed by his first technical foul for his reaction afterward, believing he was fouled.
He picked up his second and was thrown out moments after his final three-point miss in the fourth, screaming and gesturing at halfcourt believing he was fouled.
