It didn’t look good for Jayson Tatum when he crashed to the floor after Ja Morant rammed into his knee trying to go for a steal in the final seconds of a 109-106 road win for the Boston Celtics over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night.
The play occurred with just over 25 seconds remaining in the game, as Marcus Smart, who put together a sensational performance fueled by an unlikely source, tried to get a bounce pass to Tatum at the top of the key. But Morant deflected the pass to midcourt and as Tatum went to gather the loose ball, the Grizzlies star lunged for it, crashing into Tatum.
The contact made Tatum go down awkwardly and he stayed down momentarily clutching his left knee and leg with the Celtics fan base holding their collective breath.
Tatum, who netted a game-high 39 points, finished the contest and after the game said he was feeling fine, making it seem the Celtics dodged a massive injury bullet to their best player.
“It was kind of like a weird fall,” Tatum told reporters, as seen on NBC Sports Boston postgame coverage. “He dove for it. I tried to pick it up, get out the way. You know, nothing intentional. It was kind of like his knee collided with mine. So, felt a little discomfort there, but obviously kept playing. Got it looked at. So, I’m fine.”
Morant was called for a foul on the play, sending Tatum to the free-throw line for a pair of freebies. But Tatum, who entered the game shooting 90.4% from the line on the season, missed both of the attempts with the Celtics trying to hold on to a 105-101 lead at the time.
Tatum admitted the near-njury impacted his psyche.
“I guess mentally. I was really just there thinking or trying to anticipate if I was about to feel some pain,” Tatum said. “I more so was a little scared than anything. But I shouldn’t have missed them. Never miss two in a row.”
Tatum got his redemption as he made two free throws with 2.2 seconds left to help the Celtics hold off the Grizzlies and win their third straight game. The Celtics superstar coming away pretty much unscathed may have been an even bigger outcome, though.
