During a surprise 124-103 blowout loss to the Miami Heat on Tuesday, six-time All-Star Boston Celtics power forward Jayson Tatum was whistled for what fans felt was an unfair technical foul.
Now, it appears they (and Brian Scalabrine) were on to something.
After watching Boston's Tuesday game tape, league officials have reconsidered their designation of a Tatum technical foul in the (ahem) Heat of battle.
Jayson Tatum’s (BOS) technical foul at 2:03 of the 3rd quarter on 4/2/25 (vs. MIA) has been rescinded upon league office review.
— NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) April 3, 2025
Tatum was whistled for a tech at the 2:03 mark of the third quarter of the Celtics' matchup with Miami.
Per Zack Cox of The Boston Herald, this marks the second time this year that a Tatum technical foul call has been undone after the fact.
Second time this season Tatum has had a tech rescinded. https://t.co/y0ZqzwBpOv
— Zack Cox (@zm_cox) April 3, 2025
Tatum finished with 16 points on a brutal shooting line of 4-of-17 from the floor (2-of-9 from distance) and 6-of-7 shooting from the charity stripe. The 6-foot-8 Duke product also dished out seven dimes, pulled down three boards, and swiped one steal.
Four-time All-Star Celtics swingman Jaylen Brown, playing down a position at shooting guard with Jrue Holiday resting, led all Boston scorers with 24 points on 10-of-20 shooting from the floor (2-of-6 from long range) and 2-of-3 shooting from the foul line, plus nine rebounds.
In fairness, Boston was playing a few cards short of a full deck. Starting center Kristaps Porzingis and his backup Al Horford and six-time All-Defensive guard Jrue Holiday all sat out the Miami matchup.
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All-Star Miami shooting guard Tyler Herro led the Heat with a game-high 25 points on 7-of-18 shooting from the floor (2-of-6 from distance) and 9-of-10 shooting from the foul line, nine assists and six rebounds, plus two steals.
All-Star Heat power forward Bam Adebayo notched 21 points while shooting 9-of-15 from the field (2-of-3 from long range) and 1-of-1 from the free throw line while dishing out six dimes and pulling down five boards.
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Miami won its sixth consecutive clash by besting Boston, in Boston no less. Oddly enough, the Celtics actually boast a far better road record (32-7) than a home record (24-13) this season.
The Celtics fell to a still-excellent 56-20 record on the season. Boston is five games behind the 61-15 Cleveland Cavaliers, the Eastern Conference's top seed, with just six games left to play.
Unless Cleveland starts losing a lot more, it seems close to a fait accompli that the Celtics will finish with the conference's second seed.
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