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An NBA insider has revealed Tony Brothers' officiating pet peeve after calling Jayson Tatum for a technical foul late in the second quarter of Wednesday's game. Tatum was livid that Darius Garland was not called for a foul after hitting his arm during a 3-point shot.
According to ESPN's Tim Bontemps, Brothers didn't like Tatum giving him the hand wave after the non-call. Bontemps explained that the veteran official didn't like the hand wave gesture and that doing it to him would result in a technical foul.
He also pointed out that Tatum could have been called for a second technical foul for arguing.
"Jayson Tatum got one technical, and was lucky he didn't get a second one, from Tony Brothers after giving him the hand wave after not getting a foul call on that last 3-pointer & then getting very upset at the tech afterward. Brothers will always call that tech on a hand wave," Bontemps wrote.
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The incident happened with 4.3 seconds left in the second quarter. Jayson Tatum hit a 3-point shot to give the Boston Celtics a 58-51 lead. Tatum felt like he was fouled by Darius Garland, who ran into him and caused him to fall on the floor.
The Celtics superstar waved his hand after getting up and Tony Brothers quickly called him for a technical foul. Tatum was livid and could have been called for another one. His teammates were trying to restrain him and avoid getting thrown out of an important game.
Celtics fans were not happy with Brothers' reaction and the tech call. Some even thought that Tatum has always been a victim of soft technical foul calls, while others thought that the playoffs warranted more patience from referees, who might have a quick whistle in the regular season.
Jayson Tatum leads Celtics to Eastern Conference finals
The technical foul didn't alter the game, as Jayson Tatum led the Boston Celtics to a 113-98 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5. The Celtics won the series 4-1 and are back in the Eastern Conference finals for the third straight year.
Tatum finished the game with a near triple-double of 25 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists plus four steals. He went 9-for-16 from the field, including 3-for-7 from beyond the arc. Al Horford had his best game of the playoffs with 22 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and three blocks.
Derrick White also came out of his funk to score 18 points with five rebounds, six assists and two blocks. Jaylen Brown had a quiet game with 11 points, four rebounds and seven assists. The Celtics await the winner of the New York Knicks-Indiana Pacers series.
