Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown stood by each other’s side as their Game 1 win over the Miami Heat got chippy, with altercations with Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Caleb Martin towards the end of the contest.
Tatum mocked Jaime for complaining about a hard foul on the transition, asking the rookie if he wanted to cry after he objected to the foul.
Jaime Jaquez Jr.: “What the f*ck are you doing?”
Jayson Tatum: “You gonna cry?”
Then, it seems Caleb Martin wanted to send a message to the Celtics and hip-checked Tatum when he was in the air and going after a rebound. Brown jumped to his teammate’s rescue and went back and forth with Martin.
Jaylen Brown: “Watch that sh*t.”
Caleb Martin: “You’re not like that.”
LEAKED Audio Of Jayson Tatum & Jaylen Brown Trash Talking Jaime Jaquez & Caleb Martin👀:
Jaime: “What the f*ck are you doing?”
Tatum: “You gonna cry?”
Then, after a hard foul, Brown went back and forth with Martin.
Brown: “Watch that sh*t”
Martin: “You’re not like that” pic.twitter.com/Oq1uFINEYh
— LegendZ (@legendz_prod) April 22, 2024
The Heat and the Celtics have one of the best postseason rivalries of the modern era, with both teams essentially running the Eastern Conference in recent years. They have the most Conference Finals appearances in the East over the last 17 years, with eight Finals appearances between them.
Just the current iterations of this squad have met for the fourth time in the last five years. The Heat beat the Celtics in 2020 before the Celtics got their revenge in a seven-game Conference Finals win in 2022. Last season was the biggest shocker, as the Heat beat the Celtics in the Conference Finals as the No. 8 seed, nearly blowing a 3-0 lead.
This year’s series isn’t the same, with Jimmy Butler getting hurt in the Play-In tournament and missing the series. The Celtics will likely win this series, as they are already taking Game 1 with a 114-94 win.
Tatum put up a 23-point triple-double in the win while Brown had 17 points and eight rebounds. Martin didn’t have a strong offensive showing, putting up four points and four rebounds. Jaquez had an admirable playoff debut, scoring 16 points after starting in Butler’s place.
Caleb Martin’s Foul On Jayson Tatum Has Been Called Dirty
The foul Martin committed on Tatum which led to his verbal altercation with Jaylen Brown could have been risky. Tatum didn’t leave the encounter injured, but he took a nasty fall which could have led to serious injury.
Former Celtics player Brian Scalabrine thinks Martin’s foul was made with the intent to injure Tatum, with Erik Spoelstra making the call.
“Erik Spoelstra called a timeout with a 1:30 left down by 16, 30 seconds later that play happens… That looked shady to me.”
Jayson Tatum didn’t seem to dwell on the foul himself, saying he knows he will get hit like that during these games.
“I understand it’s playoff basketball. It’s a physical game, they’re such a good team, s**t going to happen. It’s not the last time I’m probably going to get hit like that or fouled in this series. I wasn’t hurt…”
At least one person enjoyed the whole ordeal. Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla declared he was excited about the interaction.
“I was waiting to see what he was gonna do. I was kind of excited about the whole situation… I enjoyed watching it.”
This series will get even more heated in forthcoming games, especially if any of the matchups are closely fought. Even without Jimmy Butler, the Heat are bringing the tenacity and aggression expected of them. Unfortunately, they don’t have the talent to match up with the Celtics.
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