Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum seemed to injure his right wrist during their 103-86 victory over the Orlando Magic in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series on Sunday. However, he didn`t seem too worried about it after the game.
“It`s okay,” Tatum told reporters. “I just fell on it, landed on it.”
Tatum mentioned his wrist was “throbbing for a second,” but then “it kind of went away.” He also said he had an X-ray after the game, and it came back negative.
Early in the fourth quarter, Tatum used a screen from Al Horford to get open and received a pass from Jrue Holiday near the basket. As he went up for a shot, he was fouled in the air by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Wendell Carter Jr. The Magic players caused him to fall hard, landing awkwardly on his right wrist.
The foul was initially called on Caldwell-Pope but was upgraded to a flagrant foul after review.
Crew chief Zach Zarba explained during the broadcast that “the illegal contact by Pope and the subsequent follow-through on a vulnerable player in the air, with potential for injury, is upgraded to a Flagrant Foul Penalty 1.”
Tatum stayed in the game, although he missed both free throws after the foul. He had his wrist taped and even had some of his best scoring moments after the fall, but he appeared to favor his wrist as the fourth quarter continued. He finished the game with 17 points, 14 rebounds, and four assists, but shot only 8 of 22 from the field.
When Tatum was taken out of the game, he kept his right hand by his side and only used his left hand to high-five teammates. In the final moments of the game, he was shown on TV grabbing and flexing his wrist while sitting on the bench.
Game 2 of the series is on Wednesday. Based on his comments, Tatum is expected to play.
Jasper Hawthorne