Boston — During Game 1 of their first-round playoff series on Sunday afternoon, the Boston Celtics defeated the Miami Heat 114-94, with Jayson Tatum, a prominent player for the team, serving as a catalyst in multiple ways.
Against Miami’s double-teams, he played shrewd, selfless basketball, recording his first career postseason triple-double with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. However, Tatum also displayed toughness as the game neared its end, springing back from the floor as soon as Heat wing Caleb Martin smacked him while he was flying high to get a rebound. The play frightened the TD Garden fans at first, but it inspired the Celtics to prove they wouldn’t be intimidated by the physically strong Heat club.It’s a physical game versus a physical team in the postseason of basketball. Tatum said, “S—‘s gonna happen,” and that he wanted to prove that he wasn’t wounded by getting up from the fall as soon as possible. “It’s probably not the last time I’m going to get hit like that in this series.”Martin claimed during the game that he didn’t purposely connect with Tatum, but rather that Tatum’s momentum had carried him into the air. Replays revealed that Martin may have been pushed from behind by Boston’s Jrue Holiday just prior to the incident. After that, Boston star Jaylen Brown shoved Martin away before he could assist Tatum in getting up. After a verbal exchange, Martin and Brown were given technical fouls.
For Miami, the climb would be more steeper this time. The finest winger on the club, Jimmy Butler, suffered a right MCL injury during the play-in round and will likely miss several weeks of action. In addition, Terry Rozier—who played in the regular season and averaged around 20 points per game—is out due to a neck issue. Both are severe blows to a Miami team that has occasionally had trouble scoring.