Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo and Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum were involved in a weird incident Monday in the fourth quarter of Game 4.
It began with Heat guard Patty Mills being called for a foul after accidentally tripping Celtics guard Derrick White. After the whistle blew, Tatum attempted to shoot a 3-pointer. Adebayo responded by contesting the shot, which caused Tatum to roll his ankle. He fell on the court clutching the ankle.
The referees then called a Flagrant 1 on Adebayo. Celtics center Al Horford was then given a technical for shoving Adebayo. At the time, the Heat were making a comeback but were still down 91-78. Tatum then made two free throws as part of the technical with 5 minutes, 4 seconds remaining.
“I don’t even know dawg,” Adebayo said when asked for an explanation. “We’re just gonna move on from that. You’re gonna get me fined.”
Jayson Tatum tweaks his ankle after Bam Adebayo contests the shot after the whistle
Bam receives a Flagrant 1 & Tatum remains in the game pic.twitter.com/BTrSDVSMiE
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) April 30, 2024
The Celtics were unhappy about the play because the possibility of injury.
“I know that we get to playing around, trying to contest shots after fouls and things like that,” Horford said. “You know, there’s levels to contest. If a guy is shooting and the play is over with, just kind of let it be. I know [Adebayo’s] trying to compete over there. But I was just mad. I don’t want to see any of my guys hurt.”
Tatum is apparently OK after the fall. The Celtics were especially worrisome because center Kristaps Porzingis left in the first half with an apparent leg injury.
“It looked like he was moving OK,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said of Tatum. “I didn’t ask him after the game, but I’m sure he’s fine.”
