The Celtics saw the entire season flashing right in front of their eyes.
Celtics star Jason Tatum landed on the feet of Kings Center Domanta Sabonis after winning a three-pointer on Monday night in a nightmare of the defending champion's potential injury.
Tatum was in pain at the court later.
Sabonis was issued a terrible foul during his review as he was unable to give Tatum any place to land when he came down from the jump shot.
The injury, determined to be an ankle sprain, occurred with 3:35 left in the third quarter, when the Celtics led 88-75, which ultimately led the 113-95 victory.
As the Sacramento crowd erupted at MVP Chants, Tatum needed help simply to get off the floor.
He finally returned to the Celtics bench before the end of the game, and was the game's main scorer with 25 points, along with seven rebounds and eight assists.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzola told reporters after the game that Tatum shouldn't miss too much time.
“It seems he's fine,” Mazra said. “I didn't watch the play, but they made the right phone call. Luckily he was able to shoot a free throw. [He’s] I'm taking care of it now. ”
Ramona Shelburn at ESPN Tatum reported that his ankles “sighed” but he told her he appeared to have been seriously injured.
Sabonis apologized to Tatum after the match, but while the Celtics nightmare scenario appears to be avoided, there's time to see if it starts to bulge in the next 24 hours.
“I feel terrifying,” Sabonis told reporters after the game. “I personally had a crazy month on my own. You never want it to happen, so I apologize.”
According to the Boston Globe, Tatum left the arena on Monday night and was not wearing boots or crutches.
Sabonis may have been dumped thanks to new landing rules that offer serious fouls to defenders who don't allow shooters to land in the “landing zone” when taking jump shots.
Rules called “Zaza” [Pachulia] It's been in place ever since Zaza Patchulia, former fight center Zaza Patchulia recklessly shut down at Kawi Leonard, then Kawi Leonard, injured him in play in the 2017-18 playoffs, derailing San Antonio's hopes for the NBA Finals.
The referee can even call a foul in such a play and drive out the player for a dangerous closeout that could result in such an injury.
Boston is 53-19 and is the second seed in the Eastern Conference behind the Cavaliers, with 10 games remaining in the regular season.
