The Celtics began their title defense with a convincing 103-86 win over the Magic in Game 1 of the NBA Playoffs, but it was not a stress-free victory.
In addition to Orlando’s competitiveness making Boston sweat, there was a tense moment early in the fourth quarter when All-Star forward Jayson Tatum went down in pain after he was fouled on a dunk attempt. After the foul, Tatum stayed down on the floor for some time and held his right wrist, but he eventually stood to his feet, returned to the bench, and remained in the game.
The foul was ruled a Flagrant 1, but Tatum missed both free throws, indicating some evident discomfort in his shooting wrist.
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He finished the game with 17 points and 14 rebounds, but he shot 8-of-22 from the field, 1-of-8 from 3-point range, and 0-of-4 from the charity stripe. As his injury occurred late in the game, all of his shooting woes can’t be attributed to the fall.
Here is the latest on Tatum’s injury.
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Jayson Tatum injury update
After the game, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla kept it straightforward and said, “He’s good” when asked about Tatum’s injury.
The injury occurred on a dunk attempt. As Boston’s star rose to finish above the rim, he was met by Orlando’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Wendell Carter Jr., who both attempted to make a play on the ball.
The contact resulted in an awkward fall, and Tatum injured his wrist while attempting to brace himself.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was given a flagrant foul 1 for this play on Jayson Tatum. pic.twitter.com/g2xnIzkuTm
— ESPN (@espn) April 20, 2025Â
While the Flagrant 1 was essentially deemed a basketball play, Tatum’s mother, Brandy Cole, didn’t take kindly to the contact made with her son.
“Want me to go to the Orlando locker room?” Cole asked as Tatum walked to get an X-ray at TD Garden, suggesting she would have words with members of the Magic about the foul.
“Want me to go to the Orlando locker room?”
—Jayson Tatum’s mother, Brandy, before he headed to the X-ray room following the Celtics’ Game 1 win. pic.twitter.com/a6MTOEtBDH
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 20, 2025
The viral clip cuts off as Tatum walks in to get an X-ray, but he does appear to shake his head as a “no” to his mom’s inquiry, which may have been playful in nature.
After the game, Tatum said the X-ray came back “clean.”
“It’s alright,” he said. “I just fell on it landed on it.”
Jayson Tatum said he got an X-Ray on his wrist and it came back clean.
–#celtics #bostonceltics pic.twitter.com/Es3CIxewdF— Celtics on CLNS (@CelticsCLNS) April 20, 2025
This story will be updated.
