After losing Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals to the Boston Celtics 114-94, Miami forward Caleb Martin spoke about fouling Jayson Tatum.
"Obviously, I know I hit him pretty hard, but momentum was carrying me, and I think I got pushed into that direction, but you know hard foul, tried to pick him up and that's just what it is," Martin said.
Whether Martin intentionally hit Tatum or not is up for the fans to decide. As for what Kristaps Porzingis thinks about Martin's hard foul on Tatum, he said, "I don't know if it was an accident or not. Those kind of plays happen. A little bit of action. I think it's good, you know, during the playoffs, so that was fun."
On the other hand, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla seemed to love Martin's hard foul on Tatum and said, I was waiting to see what he [Tatum] was going to do." Mazzulla also admitted, "I was kind of excited about the whole situation. I enjoyed watching it."
As for Tatum's recollection of being fouled, he said, "I feel fine, I mean, I didn't even see it — went to go get the rebound, got knocked out there, feel, got right up, got ready to shoot some free throws." Tatum added, "Just understanding it's playoff basketball, right? It's a physical game, playing against a physical team, shit's going to happen. It's not the last time my body will get hit like that or fouled in this series."
Playoff basketball at the Garden has always been physical since the beginning of the first dynasty led by the late Bill Russell. When it comes to Boston's biggest rival of this decade, Miami, this is just one of many physical plays that will take place during the series.
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