Jayson Tatum had 27 points and eight rebounds before being ejected in the fourth quarter, as the Boston Celtics stayed perfect at home with a 145-113 victory over ex-coach Ime Udoka and the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.

With 10:17 left in the fourth quarter, Tatum drove to the rim and was clearly hit on the arm:

The Celtics star earned his first technical for complaining about the non-call with Boston leading 117-90. He continued to complain while Aaron Holiday took the foul shot and picked up a second T, then walked over to referee CJ Washington and leaned in to shout something before walking off the court.

It was Tatum's second ejection in the last six weeks for the Celtics.

Udoka was coaching in Boston for the first time since he was suspended, and then fired, on the eve of the 2022-23 season for inappropriate workplace behavior. Joe Mazzulla replaced him, first as the interim coach, and then full time.

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Udoka, who led the Celtics to the NBA Finals in his only season on the Boston bench, got a mixed reaction when he was introduced before the game:

Before the game, Udoka said his biggest regret in Boston was “letting people down.”

Udoka was fired from the Celtics prior to the 2022-23 season after information about a personal relationship he had was revealed and team rules were broken. Udoka was unable to escape the tentacles of the scandal, and the Celtics named Joe Mazzulla to take over the head coaching slot.

While he did not have an opportunity to coach any team last year, the Rockets named Udoka as their head coach in the offseason. This is his first trip back to Boston with his new team.