Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum has been dominated out for Sport 7 of an exciting first-round playoff collection in opposition to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Tatum sat out your complete fourth quarter of a Sport 6 defeat. Whereas Boston announced Friday that it had no accidents to report, Tatum popped up on its Saturday injury report with left knee stiffness, initially being listed as “questionable” earlier than downgraded once more hours earlier than tip-off.
Tatum tore his proper Achilles tendon final Could in opposition to the New York Knicks within the Jap Convention semifinals. He returned to motion this 12 months on March 6. Tatum performed 16 regular-season video games for the Celtics, who earned the No. 2 seed within the East regardless of his absence all through a lot of the 2025-26 marketing campaign.
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Within the playoffs this 12 months, he’s averaged 23.3 factors, 10.7 rebounds and 6.8 assists per contest whereas taking pictures 47.5% from the sphere, together with 36.5% from 3.
Whereas Tatum not enjoying within the fourth quarter in Sport 6 on Thursday raised the antennae of basketball followers in all places, particularly these in Boston, harm issues had been minimized postgame, in addition to Friday.
ESPN’s Shams Charania was requested for an replace on Tatum early Friday on “Get Up.”
“It’s constructive proper now,” Charania reported at the time. “Everybody in Boston is downplaying something with Jayson Tatum, that this was even an harm. Joe Mazzulla denied that it was an harm in any respect. Jayson Tatum stated after the sport that it was simply stiffness that he felt in his leg.
Charania continued: “I’m informed Jayson Tatum informed some teammates after the sport he’s superb, he’s good to go. So I believe the expectation in Boston is, Sport 7, Jayson Tatum is all good.”
That stiffness in Tatum’s leg will now hold him out of a win-or-go-home matchup between the Jap Convention rivals that’s set for a 7:30 p.m. ET tip.
The Celtics have dropped back-to-back video games within the collection after taking a 3-1 lead. The Sixers have discovered their mojo with Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George all wholesome and rookie VJ Edgecombe offering contributions past his years.
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Philadelphia has by no means come again to win a playoff collection it’s trailed 3-1. It’s 0-for-18 in these situations. The Sixers are hoping to tug off a turnaround of that sort Saturday in TD Backyard.