WATCH: Jayson Tatum has cheeky reaction to LeBron James’ tantrum vs Celtics

Think LeBron James might’ve lost control of his emotions a bit last Saturday night?

The 38-year-old acted like a raging toddler in the closing seconds of the Lakers’ game at the Celtics, which Boston ultimately won in overtime. But LeBron acted out because the officials missed a foul by the Celtics’ Jayson Tatum on his final drive to the hoop in regulation. He ended up down on all fours, head tucked, in hysterical disbelief at the non-call.

As for Tatum, he had a funny reaction to the whole thing when asked about it after the game. It has to be seen to be appreciated, because Tatum is saying the right things while downplaying the idea that he even knew what happened, but you can tell that he was amused by LeBron’s histrionics, based on his smirking and wincing. You can check out the video below.

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• Jayson Tatum on end of regulation: "The last two minutes & overtime was a blur. I don't really know what happened" 😄 pic.twitter.com/KhBnRZ0Tif

  — Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) January 29, 2023

• Replays showed that Tatum did, in fact, graze LeBron’s arm with part of his hand as he swiped for the ball on the drive to the hoop. The officials themselves might need a wellness check, based on the utter shame and regret they expressed later that night on Twitter about missing the call. That, or perhaps a couple goons showed up at the doorstep and made them tweet it.

  But even as LeBron is a four-time NBA champion and soon to be the all-time scoring leader, it says a lot about him that he wanted to win a game by getting feathered on the arm and shooting a couple free-throws, that badly. To the point that he’d be making Tatum hold back laughter as he’s asked about the theatrics.

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  Jan 28, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) reacts during the second half against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports

• To be fair, I’m reading into Tatum’s facial expressions and body language in his response. Don’t know for a fact that he’s laughing at LeBron. But it’s hard not to connect those dots when you watch the video. And it shouldn’t be a problem, anyway, because anyone who isn’t a total LeBron sycophant was laughing at his behavior too.

  But of course, the most important thing from Saturday night is that the Celtics were able to make their shots in overtime and pull off the win. They now get the rest of January off, and get back to action on Wednesday, Feb. 1 against the Brooklyn Nets at TD Garden.

• LeBron was not happy after this play to win the game. pic.twitter.com/FNMPBQTHox

  — ESPN (@espn) January 29, 2023

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  Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Yell at him on Twitter @mattdolloff and follow him on Instagram @realmattdolloff. Check out all of Matt’s content here.