After colliding late in the Celtics’ victory against the Heat, Jayson Tatum is fine and doesn’t anticipate any problems in the postseason.
Boston (AP) — As the Celtics were closing in on a victory that started the playoffs, one of their key players had just touched the court.
Superstar With less than a minute remaining, Miami’s Caleb Martin undercut Jayson Tatum, who had just moments earlier recorded his first career triple-doubl
e in the playoffs, sending him falling into the TD Garden floor.
Tatum had a heavy fall on his hip but immediately got back up. However, that didn’t stop Jaylen Brown, another key player for the Celtics, from going nose-to-nose with Martin, which resulted in a quick altercation and two technical fouls for each player.
After that, Tatum calmly made two free throws to help seal a 114-94 victory in the first game of Sunday’s first-round playoff series.
Tatum stated that he was alright physically following the play and that the team’s intention to keep its composure throughout the postseason—something it didn’t always exhibit in the team’s game against Miami previous season—was the reason he got up so quickly.
“Just realizing that basketball is in the postseason. Playing against a physical team is a physical game. Things will happen, he stated. “In this series, I’m probably going to get fouled or hit like that again. That kind of impact didn’t hurt me. Simply stand up. I was aware that we were in the bonus. Simply descend there and make the free throws.
Martin then stated to reporters that the play was not malicious.
Martin remarked, “I tried to go help him up.” “He just hit the floor, and I heard it. Of course, I know I hit him rather hard, but I believe I was forced in that way since momentum was with me. But he tried to lift him up, hard foul. It is exactly that. I’m confident I would have taken the same action if Jimmy Butler had been on the ground. It simply is what it is.
When Tatum hit the court, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla stated he wasn’t worried in the slightest.
“I was waiting to see what he was going to do, I was kind of excited about the whole situation,” Mazzulla said of the play. “I enjoyed watching it.”
He also enjoyed what he witnessed for most of the other 47 minutes.
Tatum finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to lead six Celtics in double-figures. Derrick White added 20 points and four assists. Brown added 17 points. The Celtics also dominated in the paint, holding the Heat to just five offensive rebounds.
Center Kristaps Porzingis said he thought they responded well to the moment with Tatum.
“I think we matched it. We did a pretty good job I would say,” he said. “I don’t know if it was an accident or not. Those kind of plays happen. A little bit of action, I think it’s good for during the playoffs. That was fun.”
