One of the worst calls against the Celtics this year has been stricken from the record

This HAD to happen.

Jaylen Brown was victim to one of the worst calls you’ll see in the 2023 NBA Playoffs when he was hit with a technical foul during Game 7 between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers. Referee Scott Foster turned out to be entirely in the wrong to T up Brown for taunting the 76ers’ bench, because the replay showed he clearly reacted after Georges Niang grabbed Brown’s leg as he passed by him.

So, yeah, only one guy deserved a technical foul here, and it most certainly wasn’t No. 7 for the Celtics.

• Jaylen Brown and Georges Niang were both given a technical foul after Niang appeared to grab Brown's leg from the bench. pic.twitter.com/rBwelUVROZ

  — ESPN (@espn) May 14, 2023

• The NBA did the right thing, though, and has done a 180 on Brown’s technical upon review. The league’s officiating account on Twitter announced Monday that Brown’s tech has been rescinded.

  Doesn’t undo the fact that Brown was one tech away from being ejected from a Game 7, but fortunately that didn’t happen. For Brown’s sake, it’s nice to get that needless technical foul off his record.

  “I just think with the intensity of the game and emotions flying around, I think [Niang] just thought maybe, ‘Let me just try and grab him, slow down a little bit,’” Brown said on the incident. “I don’t think Niang’s a bad guy or anything, I work out with him in the off-season, I just think he just got caught up in intensity and made a play, and I responded to it.

  “I don’t know which way I should have responded to it, but if I didn’t do anything they probably would have played on.”

• 

  Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

• “Made a play” is certainly one way to describe Niang’s behavior with the leg-grab. That was some good-old-fashioned wrestling heel shenanigans that have no place in an actual game. Niang claimed he was basically trying to stop Brown from falling on him.

  “He fell on the bench and I guess it looked like I grabbed him,” Niang said about the moment. “It was a bang-bang play. Nothing malicious, so take it for what it is. It’s an intense environment and things happen quickly.”

  Brown didn’t seem to think Niang had any malicious intent at that moment, either. So, all’s well that ends well between those two. But it’s also good that the NBA undid Foster’s stupidity in hitting Brown with the tech on that play.

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• Brown and the Celtics have bigger things to worry about, now. They kick off the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday night in Boston against the Miami Heat. You can catch the action on 98.5 The Sports Hub, starting with pregame coverage at 8 p.m. ET, followed by postgame with Joe Murray and Cerrone Battle.

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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.

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