Jayson Tatum was main his defending champion Celtics squad to a late comeback in hopes to tie the sequence at 2-2.
Then Boston’s repeat title hopes went up in flames because the celebrity suffered an obvious proper leg damage with 3:07 remaining within the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s Recreation 4 matchup in opposition to the Knicks. As Tatum went down in ache, the celebrity shortly held his proper leg whereas on the Madison Sq. Backyard hardwood. He was finally carried off the court docket and by no means returned for the ultimate minutes of Recreation 4.
The Knicks finally gained, 121-113, to increase their sequence lead 3-1.
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla stated Tatum is scheduled for an MRI Wednesday. The top coach is not sure if Tatum sustained an ankle or Achilles damage.
“I have no idea,” he stated. “I got back there. I talked to the medical staff, they told me it’s a lower-body injury and [he’ll] get an MRI tomorrow. We’ll see where it goes from there.”
When requested if Tatum underwent on-site testing for an Achilles damage, Mazzulla stated “I didn’t ask him, I just got the update from him. I just asked him how he was doing.”
Jayson Tatum was helped off the court docket late in Recreation 4 after an obvious leg damage on this play. pic.twitter.com/UF8D4mxqlo
The damage occurred with Tatum being guarded by OG Anunoby on the perimeter. A close-by Jaylen Brown tried a dribble drive into the paint and misplaced the ball because it rolled in direction of Tatum and Anunoby.
Anunoby retrieved the ball whereas Tatum instantly fell to the hardwood in ache. Anunoby then completed the fastbreak basket to increase the lead, 113-104.
The Celtics star carried his staff all through the sport and shined brightest amongst his teammates.
He left the matchup with 42 factors, eight rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals and two blocks. He shot 16-for-28, together with seven makes from downtown.
To make matter worse, movies circulated on social media of Tatum being moved in a wheelchair. Not a very good signal for Boston’s No. 1 man.
“I think everybody’s concerned with Jayson,” stated Brown, who completed with Recreation 4 with 20 factors, seven rebounds and two assists. “I’m not sure how bad it is. Didn’t look great. But I think everybody is kind of more concerned with that. Obviously the loss is huge. But we’ve got to get ready for Game 5, so we’ll take the night and pick our heads up tomorrow and put together a game plan to come out on our own floor to keep this series alive.”
No Tatum for a do-or-die Recreation 5 in Boston considerably decreases Boston’s possibilities of advancing. The deficit now sits at 3-1 in opposition to a Knicks staff coming in with full confidence after taking Video games 1 and a pair of at TD Backyard.
Within the instant future, being with out Tatum means a lot of the workload falling on Brown and Derrick White. However the severity of the damage remains to be in query.
And everybody inside Boston’s locker — and inside town — is questioning how the leg damage will influence the franchise for the long-term future.
“I’m not sure. I’ve got no words right now,” stated Brown.
Initially Printed: Might 12, 2025 at 10:20 PM EDT
