As the Boston Celtics were taking control of their playoff opener against the Orlando Magic, Jayson Tatum, their star player, was on the ground, clearly in pain and clutching his wrist.
Chants of “MVP!” echoed throughout the arena, and after a brief moment, Tatum got back up and was greeted with loud cheers as he made his way to the bench.
“I just landed on it. It was throbbing for a second,” Tatum explained. “It kind of went away.”
The sight of Tatum returning to the game was a huge relief for the Celtics, who are aiming to defend their NBA championship title. Derrick White led the Celtics with 30 points, while Tatum contributed 17 points and finished the game after the scary fall. Boston secured a 103-86 victory over Orlando in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series on Sunday.
Payton Pritchard provided 19 points off the bench, and Jaylen Brown, who had missed the final three regular-season games due to a knee issue, played 31 minutes, scoring 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting.
“We’ve got many different ways we can win. A lot of different things we can throw at teams,” White said.
With Boston leading 89-73 and 8:28 left in the game, Tatum attempted a dunk but was fouled hard by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who tried to block the shot. Tatum landed awkwardly on his right side. He stayed down for a short time before getting up, clutching his right hand. After a video review, Caldwell-Pope’s foul was upgraded to a flagrant foul. Tatum missed the two free throws but continued playing. He later confirmed that an X-ray came back clear.
Paolo Banchero led Orlando with 36 points and 11 rebounds, while Franz Wagner added 23 points. Despite the effort, Orlando hasn’t advanced past the first round of the playoffs since the 2009-10 season.
Orlando had a one-point lead at halftime, limiting Boston to just 7 of 15 from beyond the arc in the first half. However, the Celtics took control in the third quarter, outscoring Orlando 30-18 to lead 78-65 heading into the final period. Boston’s lead grew to as much as 19 points in the fourth quarter. Orlando finished with 15 turnovers, which led to 24 points for the Celtics.
“It’s Game 1, there’s nerves. Lit crowd. Really loud,” said Banchero. “Not a total surprise that we struggled a little bit on offense, honestly.”
Brown, who had injections in his knee last week, didn’t show any signs of the injury early in the game. Later, with the Celtics up by 15 in the third quarter, Brown drove to the basket for a two-handed dunk and celebrated by hanging on the rim.
“I haven’t got one of those in a little bit,” Brown said. “But we’re just getting started.”
