Jayson Tatum revealed he was ejected for describing the Boston Celtics' tussle with the New York Knicks as "the best-officiated game I've been a part of".

The seemingly sarcastic comment towards the game officials cost Tatum his place on the court with 3:46 remaining in the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden.

By then, the Knicks were almost home and hosed, and they saw out a 109-94 victory to extend their streak to six games and improve to 36-27 overall.

It was the 24-year-old Tatum's first ejection of his NBA career, and defeat means the Celtics (44-18) no longer have the best record in the league, dropping below the Milwaukee Bucks (43-17).

Tatum managed just 14 points on six-of-18 shooting from the field, with seven rebounds and nine assists.

Asked what was the cause of his ejection, Tatum said: "I don't know, but all the great players get thrown out a few times in their career, so, it's good for my rep."

Tatum did know the reason, though. He felt the officials missed a foul on a three-point shot and he made his feelings known.

He had already seen a technical foul given against him, for raising a grievance over no foul being called on a dunk late in the third quarter.

"That one was the tough one. The first one, no call. If you look, it was clearly a foul," Tatum said. "Those are the ones that are tough. You get a tech for something that you probably was right about.

"The second one, I just told him this was probably the best-officiated game I've been a part of. I tried to give him a compliment. It didn't go over so well."

Although obviously a jibe rather than praise, Tatum repeated his message: "I said it was the best-officiated game I've been a part of. I meant it."