Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s flagrant foul on Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum in the fourth quarter of Game 1 could have caused some bad blood in the first-round playoff series.
But veteran guard Jrue Holiday wasn’t up in arms over the play — unlike Tatum’s mother — after the Celtics defeated the Orlando Magic, 103-86, at TD Garden on Sunday.
“Hard foul,” Holiday told reporters, per CLNS Media. “Playoff basketball, seventh seed that’s going to come out and fight and be physical. Just a hard foul.”
Perhaps the incident didn’t draw outrage from Holiday since it looked like Tatum avoided a serious injury despite falling hard on his right wrist with 8:28 left in the game.
Tatum lost his balance while airborne after Caldwell-Pope swiped at his arm. Tatum remained on the parquet floor in pain for several minutes before getting to his feet and staying in the game.
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The six-time All-Star, who turned in an inefficient 8-of-22 shooting performance to score 17 points to go along with 14 rebounds, didn’t look hampered by the injury over the final stages of the fourth quarter. Tatum did get an X-ray on the area after the game and he said it came back “clean.”
Like Holiday, Tatum didn’t appear to be all that bothered by Caldwell-Pope’s foul, which was upgraded to a flagrant 1 upon video review.
“It’s all right,” Tatum told reporters after the game on how his wrist felt, per CLNS Media. “Just fell on it, landed on it. … It was throbbing for a second. Kind of went away.”
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Given the way Holiday and Tatum reacted, the foul won’t infuse this series with a much-needed dose of animosity. But perhaps another situation could spark that as the Magic try to do everything in their power to shock the defending NBA champions.
Game 2 at TD Garden between the Celtics and Magic is scheduled for Wednesday night at 7 p.m. ET.
Featured image via Eric Canha/Imagn Images
