Boston Celtics
Jaylen Brown had eight points and seven rebounds in 15 minutes at the time of his ejection.
Jaylen Brown was not happy after being ejected on Tuesday. AP Photo/Eric Gay
Celtics star Jaylen Brown had an early exit from Wednesday’s anticipated road game against the San Antonio Spurs.
The All-Star wing was ejected with 3:38 left in the second quarter after being assessed a pair of technical fouls. Brown received both techs after arguing with the refs that he was fouled before stepping out of bounds on a turnover.
It didn’t take long for Brown to make his opinions known on social media. Just minutes after getting tossed from the game, he posted on X: “This the [expletive] I be talking about.”
Brown — who recorded eight points and seven rebounds in just 15 minutes of action against San Antonio before getting the hook — was not pleased after turning the ball over with 3:42 to go until halftime.
Believing that he was fouled on the play in question by Spurs guard Stephon Castle while bringing the ball along the sideline, Brown aired out his grievances against referee Tyler Ford, earning a quick tech.
Just a few seconds later — as Brown continued to argue with Ford — another ref, Suyash Mehta, whistled him for another technical, leading to an ejection.
Brown was far from thrilled about bounced from such a pivotal game, as he was held back by teammates Sam Hauser and Baylor Scheierman before eventually making his way off the court.
It marked the second ejection of Brown’s 10-year NBA career; he was bounced from a game against the Knicks in 2023.
Brown’s absence was felt in Boston’s eventual 125-116 loss to San Antonio. The Celtics were already shorthanded with both Payton Pritchard (neck spasms) and Nikola Vucevic (finger fracture) unavailable.
Brown’s comments on social media harkened back to his pricey remarks from the last time the Celtics took on the Spurs at TD Garden on Jan. 10.
After Boston lost to San Antonio, 100-95, in that home game, Brown didn’t mince words about the officiating.
“I’ll take the [expletive] fine. Curtis [Blair], all them dudes were terrible tonight,” Brown said postgame earlier this season. “I don’t care, they can fine me whatever they want but it’s crazy. Every time we play a good team, it’s the same [expletive].”
”Somebody please pull up the clips. I’m irate at the officiating of the game today. If we can’t get to the free-throw line and teams are allowed to be physical and bump us off of our spots and et cetera, then it’s hard to win games like that.”
Two days later, the NBA fined Brown $35,000 for public criticism of officials.
The Celtics and Brown will look to bounce back on Thursday when they take on the Thunder in Oklahoma City.
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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