BOSTON — Usually when a player heads back to the locker room, it’s injury related. That wasn’t the case for Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum in Sunday’s 131-129 double overtime loss to the New York Knicks at TD Garden.
Tatum made two quick visits to the locker room during the latter stages of the game, according to The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn. One of Tatum’s trips came in the fourth quarter while the other came just before the start of the second extra frame.
It was rather unusual, but seemed to be necessary for Tatum as Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla explained.
“I think he just had to go to the bathroom,” Mazzulla said.
A couple of tough times to need a potty break, but Tatum didn’t miss any game action and wound up playing a season-high 49 minutes. He finished with a game-best 40 points, but shot an inefficient 12-for-30 from the field, including hitting just six of 17 3-point attempts while grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing out six assists.
Tatum did have somewhat of a scary moment midway through the fourth quarter when it appeared he got banged up. He got tripped as he made his way up the court following a Knicks turnover and spent some time down on the floor, which caused Celtics fans in attendance to briefly hold their collective breaths. Tatum clutched the area around his left knee, but he didn’t seem bothered by anything after that.
He just needs to make sure to time his bathroom breaks a little bit better for the next game.
