NEW YORK — While the Celtics fell to the Knicks in Game 4, the immediate worry is Jayson Tatum. The C’s star had to leave late in the game due to an apparent right leg injury. Tatum was going for a loose ball, and on the non-contact play, he crumpled to the ground afterwards as he grabbed at his right foot.
Tatum was looked at by Celtics trainers before needing to be helped off the court as he couldn’t put any weight on his right foot. The ESPN broadcast showed Tatum in a wheelchair before heading to the locker room. C’s coach Joe Mazzulla said he had no update on Tatum, but said the star will get an MRI on Tuesday to determine the injury.
The Celtics now trail the Knicks 3-1 in the East semifinals. While they led for most of the first half powered by their hot 3-point shooting, they faltered in the second half. Tatum was a huge part of keeping the C’s in the game as he finished Monday’s game with 42 points with several highlight plays. But the injury casts a shadow on that masterful performance as the Celtics await what the diagnosis will be.
Here’s what Mazzulla said about Tatum’s injury:
On Tatum’s tests: I didn’t ask him. I just got the update from him. Just asked him how he was doing. He’ll get the MRI tomorrow and we’ll see what it is.
On how concerned they are: “Obviously you’re always concerned about someone’s health. So it’s two-fold. We’re concerned about his health, where he’s at, and then we’re concerned about what we have to do better for Game 5 when we get back to Boston.
On if it’s the ankle or the Achilles: “I have no idea. Got back there, talked to the medical staff. They told me it’s a lower-body injury, and they’re going to get an MRI tomorrow. So we’ll see where it goes from there.”
On Tatum staying down after the injury: “Yeah, obviously, you’re always worried about someone’s health, so the fact that he had to be carried off, like you said, he’s the type of guy that he gets right up. So he didn’t, and we’ll know tomorrow exactly what it is, but yeah. I mean, it’s tough to watch a guy like him get carried off like that.”
On the locker room: “Tonight, we just didn’t play well defensively, and we’re in a hole, and we’re going to get back to Boston, and we’ve got to figure out a way to win. So, Knicks played great tonight, we had stretches of playing well, and they got the best of us, especially in that third quarter with their pace, their offensive execution. I thought their pressure took us out of a lot of our actions, and took away our rhythm, and we have to fix that for next game.”
