After Jayson Tatum had a hard fall during Boston’s 103-86 playoff-opening win against Orlando on Sunday, he made sure everyone knew that he was “all right” and that the X-ray on his right wrist came “clean.” This means, the player should be set to play in Game 2 of these Eastern Conference series on Wednesday.
The Celtics star, who ended the match on 8-of-22 shooting in almost 40 minutes of play, seemed to injure his wrist at the TD Garden last night. With 8:28 left until the final buzzer, he attempted a driving dunk at the Tim but was met by Magic rivals Wendell Carter Jr and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Both players collided with the reigning champion in the air, and sent JT to the floor, landing uncomfortably on his right hand. The player immediately stayed laying down while he grabbed his wrist, and the call was upgraded to a flagrant foul 1 by Caldwell-Pope.
“It’s all right,” Tatum said afterwards, as he decided to stay in the game but then missed both of his free throws. “Just fell on it, landed on it. It was throbbing for a second. Kind of went away.”
Once the match was over, coach Joe Mazzulla assured that his pupil was “doing good,” not showing any concern for his availability during the rest of the first-round series. Jayson grabbed a game-high 14 points, but had a poor night shooting from afar (including 1-of-8 from 3-point range).
Starting guard Derrick White made seven 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 30 points. “I think that’s what makes us so dangerous, that we just have a really well-balanced team,” Tatum said. “And guys step up and it can be different guys on any night. And everybody else just kind of figures out their part to make sure we win.”
All-Star teammate Jaylen Brown, who added 16 points in nearly 30 minutes on the floor, had his first game back after sitting to on Boston’s last three matches due to a bone bruise. “I felt good today,” he said of his knee. “To start the game, it took me a little bit to get into the game. I feel like I was watching a little bit to start.”
