The Celtics just saw their entire season flash before their eyes.
Celtics star Jayson Tatum landed on the foot of Kings center Domantas Sabonis after elevating for a 3-pointer on Monday night in a potential injury nightmare for the defending champs.
Tatum was riving in pain on the court afterward.
Sabonis was issued a flagrant foul one on review as he did not give Tatum a place to land as he was coming down from his jump shot, which still went in.
The injury, which was determined to be an ankle sprain, occurred with 3:35 remaining in the third quarter when the Celtics led 88-75 of what ended up being a 113-95 victory.
Tatum wound up needing support just to get off the floor as the Sacramento crowd erupted in MVP chants.
He did eventually return to the Celtics bench before the end of the game and was still the leading scorer for the game with 25 points, along with seven rebounds and eight assists.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters after the game that Tatum shouldn’t miss much time.
“He seems to be doing OK,” Mazzulla said. “I didn’t see the play, but they made the right call. Fortunate that he was able to shoot the free throws. [He’s] taking care of it right now.”
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported that Tatum told her that his ankle is “sore” but appears to have escaped serious injury.
Sabonis did apologize to Tatum after the game and it appears that the nightmare scenario for the Celtics has been avoided, although time will tell if it begins to swell over the next 24 hours.
“I feel horrible,” Sabonis told reporters after the game. “I’ve had a crazy month myself, personally, and you never want that to happen. So, I apologize.”
Tatum was not wearing a boot or on crutches as he departed the arena on Monday night, according to the Boston Globe.
Sabonis could have been thrown out thanks to the new landing rule which offers flagrant fouls to defenders who don’t allow shooters to land in their “landing zone” when shooting a jump shot.
The rule, nicknamed “The Zaza [Pachulia] Rule,” has been in place since ex-Warriors center Zaza Pachulia closed out recklessly on Kawhi Leonard, then a member of the Spurs, injuring him on a play in the 2017-18 playoffs and derailing San Antonio’s NBA Finals hopes.
Referees can now call fouls on such plays and even eject players for dangerous closeouts that can result in injuries like this.
Boston sits at 53-19 and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference behind the Cavaliers with 10 games left in its regular season.