How Celtics Felt After Jayson Tatum’s Demoralizing Game 4 Injury Vs. Knicks

The Boston Celtics came face-to-face with their greatest nightmare in the closing minutes of Game 4 against the New York Knicks on Monday night.

Jayson Tatum, in the midst of a legacy performance, collapsed with a non-contact injury during the final three minutes of Boston’s 121-113 loss at Madison Square Garden. The Celtics were dead silent, as the six-time All-Star remained on the floor aching in pain before team trainers assisted him to a wheelchair. It was a scene nobody, in New York or Boston, could’ve envisioned, especially amid a 42-point outburst.

The Celtics were knocked out for the remainder of the fourth quarter while the Knicks trotted their way toward a commanding 3-1 series lead. Tatum’s injury in itself was a devastating sight for Boston, but with the team’s season on the line and an improbable series deficit staring the team dead in its face, the rest of the crew shared a feeling of defeat.

“I just asked him how he was doing, so we’ll get the MRI tomorrow and we’ll see what it is,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said postgame, per CLNS Media. “… You’re obviously always concerned about someone’s health. So, it’s twofold. We’re concerned about his health, where he’s at, and we’re concerned about what we have to do better for Game 5 when we get back to Boston.”

Here’s how Boston’s locker room reacted following the costly defeat:

Jaylen Brown
“It’s tough,” Brown told reporters, per CLNS Media. “There’s not really a lot to say. We didn’t say much. It felt like — there wasn’t a lot to say. Obviously, JT, everybody’s concerned with him, but tonight defensively, our defense let us down. Just no resistance. … We take the night and get back up tomorrow. Tomorrow’s a new day and we’ll go from there.”

Derrick White
“Honestly, that’s our brother and you hate to see him go down and we just know what type of guy he is, and it’s tough to see him go down, but obviously right now (the vibes are) pretty low and we just gotta find a way to win Game 5,” White told reporters, per CLNS Media. “… We just gotta find a way and whoever’s out there, whatever it takes and just find a way. So, yeah, find a way.”

Al Horford
“It is an uphill battle that for our group, we have to turn that page quickly and our first job, which is to win on Wednesday,” Horford told reporters, per CLNS Media. “That’s the mindset and as a group, we just have to rally together because obviously we’ve lost our leader and the guy that gets us going. So we have to come together as a group.”

Horford added: “It’s very concerning, just from the care that I have for him and what he means to us, what he means to Boston. Just very tough for us and more importantly, it’s just really tough for him right now, so let’s see what happens. But it’s very tough for our group altogether.”

Kristaps Porzingis
“I don’t know what to make of it,” Porzingis told reporters, per CLNS Media. “Obviously, it looked like he got hurt there. He stayed on the ground for a while, so I don’t know what exactly but it didn’t look good. It didn’t look good, so we’re hoping for the best.”