Jayson Tatum took a flagrant foul and landed on his right wrist late in Sunday’s playoff game between the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic, prompting concern about an injury.
Tatum was able to finish the game and told reporters that X-rays on his wrist came back negative following Boston’s 103-86 win in Game 1 of the first-round series.
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Tatum’s injury scare took place with 8:28 remaining remaining in the fourth quarter. He attacked the basket for a dunk attempt and landed on the baseline after a foul by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in which the Magic guard grabbed Tatum’s right elbow and pulled while Tatum was in midair.
Tatum landed hard on the court and clutched his right wrist. He remained down on the ground for several moments after the foul. Officials reviewed the foul on Caldwell-Pope and upgraded it from a personal to a Flagrant 1.
During the review, Tatum got up and walked to the bench, where he received treatment from a member of the Celtics’ medical staff. When play resumed, he went to the foul line to shoot his free throws.
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An 81% free throw shooter for the season, Tatum missed them both. But he continued to play down the stretch and hit his first 3-pointer of the game moments later, easing concern that he was dealing with a significant injury.
But he continued to flex his wrist on the bench once he was taken out of the game in the final two minutes along with the rest of the Celtics starters, clearly still in discomfort.
He addressed the status of his wrist during his postgame news conference.
“It’s all right,” Tatum said when asked about his wrist. “I just fell on it, landed on it.”
Tatum, who scored 17 points on 8-of-22 shooting, offered minimal details when asked if he thought it would bother him moving forward in the playoffs.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope grabbed Jayson Tatum’s right elbow and pulled while Tatum was in midair. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
(Maddie Meyer via Getty Images)
“I just landed on it,” Tatum continued. “It was throbbing for a second. Kind of went away.”
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Tatum then confirmed that he did have X-rays on his wrist.
“Yeah, it’s clean, it’s good,” Tatum said of the X-rays.
While the results of the X-rays were good news for Tatum, it’s not clear from Tatum’s answers how much his wrist is bothering him or if it will impact him moving forward.
Tatum isn’t the only prominent Celtic dealing with injury concerns. Fellow All-Star and 2024 Finals MVP Jaylen Brown played Sunday days after receiving injections for a lingering knee injury.
Brown played 30 minutes on Sunday, scoring 16 points while shooting 6-of-14 from the field. He told reporters after the game that he’s feeling “a lot better.”
“I’m feeling a lot better,” Brown said, per the Boston Herald. “I’m feeling a lot better, moving a lot better. So I think that’s great.
“I think some people have definitely been praying for me over the last couple weeks or whatever, and I’m feeling a lot better.”
Boston is scheduled to play Orlando in Game 2 of their first-round series on Wednesday.
