Jaylen Brown’s game ended unexpectedly on Tuesday night as the Boston Celtics lost 125-116 to the San Antonio Spurs. The highlight of the match was Brown’s ejection before halftime, which followed his intense argument with an official over a controversial call.
Brown fell out of bounds while being defended by Spurs player Stephon Castle, resulting in a turnover. He protested that Castle had pushed him off the court. Crew chief Tyler Ford later stated that the officials did not observe any illegal contact during the play.
Ford issued the first technical foul to Brown, who continued to argue. NBA Official Suyash Mehta intervened and gave Brown a second technical just as teammate Sam Hauser tried to pull him away, leading to Brown’s ejection.
Stephen A. Smith criticizes Jaylen Brown’s ejection
The ejection frustrated not just the Celtics players but also viewers. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith criticized Mehta on First Take, questioning his involvement in the situation.
“You have crew chief Tyler Ford, and Suyash Mehta is not the chief. He stepped in when he shouldn’t have. Tyler Ford missed a call, and that was who Brown approached. Mehta should not have ejected him. This was a nationally-televised game, and we want to see Jaylen Brown,” Smith said.