- NBA analyst Brian Calabrine believes the Heat and Martin tried to eliminate Tatum
- Tatum finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Miami
- DailyMail.com provides the latest international sports news.
Tempers flared in the final minute of the Boston Celtics’ first-round matchup against the Miami Heat on Sunday, when Caleb Martin beat Jayson Tatum on a rebound attempt and sent him hard to the ground, leading to a brief scrum afterward. .
The Heat forward slammed his Celtics counterpart with exactly 60 seconds left in Boston’s 20-point rout (114-94) at TD Garden, as he ran into traffic inside the paint while Tatum stood still. next to the Miami board, looking to add to his rebound count.
Tatum’s teammate Jaylen Brown, who finished with 17 points and eight rebounds that night, confronted Martin afterward, as both players had to be separated by game officials before double technical fouls were assessed to both of them. Every player.
NBA commentator Brian Calabrine, a member of the Celtics’ 2008 championship team, described the foul as “shady” on NBC Boston’s game show, while Martin told reporters afterward that he tried to help Tatum recover. before Brown intervened.
‘I tried to go help [Tatum] up,” Martin said after the game. ‘I obviously hit him pretty hard. The momentum was carrying me. I think they pushed me in that direction, but, you know, it was a hard foul. He tried to pick it up. It’s just what it is.’ ‘
Caleb Martin fouled Jayson Tatum hard in the final 60 seconds. from Heat-Celtics on Sunday
The Heat forward crashed into the paint to grab a rebound while Tatum was facing the rim.
Referees had to separate Martin and Jaylen Brown after Celtic came on to replace Tatum.
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla expressed excitement and anticipation for Taytum’s response, nothing about the 26-year-old five-time All-Star being “fine” after the incident.
“I was waiting to see what he was going to do. I was a little excited about the whole situation. So I enjoyed watching it,” he said.
Tatum ended up posting the first triple-double of his playoff career with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Celtics past the Heat and open both teams’ first-round playoff series.
Derrick White added 20 points and four assists for Boston, which finished with six players in double figures.
Miami ruined the Celtics’ NBA Finals dreams last season, taking a 3-0 lead in the conference finals and then defeating them in Boston in Game 7.
But Boston fed off the energy of the TD Garden crowd on Sunday, hitting 22 3-pointers and outscoring the Heat 31-14 in the third quarter. The Celtics’ lead grew to 34 points in the quarter. Miami took advantage of a late run to get within 14, but Boston was able to close the scoring.
Including the regular season, Boston is 38-4 at home and has won its last four meetings with the Heat.
Bam Adebayo scored 24 points for Miami, which played for the second straight game without star Jimmy Butler after his right knee injury during the play-in round. Terry Rozier also remained out with a neck injury. Delon Wright added 17 points. Jaime Jáquez Jr. finished with 16 points.
Sunday’s game had a completely different feel without Butler, whose postseason heroics marked Miami’s run from the play-in qualifiers to the NBA Finals a year ago.
Boston beat the Heat in all three regular-season meetings this season, including a 33-point blowout in Miami. This weekend’s game looked similar to that, with the Celtics attacking the Heat from the get-go.
Game two is Wednesday in Boston.