Celtics’ Jayson Tatum Opens Up About Wrist Injury In Game 1 Vs. Magic

The concern grew with each second Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum laid on the parquet floor in pain, clutching at his right wrist.

A significant injury to Tatum at the outset of Boston’s playoff run would be detrimental to the Celtics’ chances at repeating as NBA champions.

But the Celtics, and their fans, could breathe a sigh of relief as it looks like Tatum avoided a serious injury after suffering a hard fall late in Sunday’s 103-86 win over the Orlando Magic in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series.

Tatum stayed in the game after having his wrist taped up and provided an encouraging update on his health following the game.

“It’s all right,” Tatum told reporters, per CLNS Media. “Just fell on it, landed on it. … It was throbbing for a second. Kind of went away.”

Tatum landed awkwardly with 8:28 left in the fourth quarter after Magic guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope swiped at him while airborne on a hard drive. Tatum stayed down for several minutes before getting to his feet and Caldwell-Pope was assessed a flagrant 1 foul on the play after video review.

Tatum confirmed he got an X-ray after the contest and he said it came back “clean.”

The six-time All-Star missed the two ensuing free throws following the foul, but didn’t look hampered much by the ailment. He even shot better after the injury than he did through the first three quarters, knocking down 3-of-5 shots over the final stages of the fourth quarter, including hitting a tough fadeaway jumper over Paolo Banchero.

It was far from Tatum’s best playoff performance as he struggled to get into an offensive groove most of the game. But he still found a way to make an impact by grabbing 14 rebounds to go along with his 17 points on 8-for-22 shooting.

“Obviously, probably didn’t play the efficient offensive game that he liked, but I thought his poise, you couldn’t tell that,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters, per CLNS Media. “That never got in the way of his defense and his physicality and his rebounding. That’s the most important thing. He’s going to score, he’s going to put in position to be successful, but you’ve got to answer the call defensive, physicality-wise. I thought he did that, especially in the rebounding in the second half.”