Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum missed the first playoff game of his career Wednesday night, sitting out with a bone bruise in his right wrist as Boston hosted the Orlando Magic in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.
The six-time All-Star was declared out about an hour before tipoff. He had been listed as doubtful with the injury, which he suffered in the Celtics’ 103-86 Game 1 victory Sunday.
Tatum was not on the court for the pregame shooting that he usually does alongside teammate Jaylen Brown. During the game, he sat on the end of the Celtics’ bench in street clothes with a protective wrap on his wrist. Veteran Al Horford started in his place.
Tatum had played in all 114 possible playoff games during his eight seasons in Boston. He played in 72 games during the regular season, leading the Celtics in points, assists and rebounds per game.
The Celtics were 53-19 with Tatum in the lineup and 8-2 without him, according to ESPN Research. Both of those losses were to the Magic, but Boston rested all its starters in the final meeting at Orlando on April 9.
During his media availability about two hours before the game, coach Joe Mazzulla said Tatum had been able to do some on-court work Wednesday.
“I know he’s doing everything he can to put himself in position to play,” Mazzulla said. “He’ll be day to day.”
Tatum was injured when he collided with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Wendell Carter Jr. midair while driving for a two-handed dunk in the fourth quarter Sunday. He landed hard on his right wrist on the play, for which Caldwell-Pope was called for a flagrant foul, but remained in the game.
He finished with 17 points on 8-of-22 shooting to go along with a game-high 14 rebounds but was seen favoring his wrist.
Tatum said afterward that an initial throbbing pain went away. A postgame X-ray came back clean.
He participated in parts of Boston’s practice session Tuesday. An MRI that day revealed the bone bruise.
Horford took exception to the play, reiterating his belief that the Magic stepped over the line with their physicality on Tatum.
“Yeah, there was something extra,” Horford said Tuesday. “There was a lot. It was the second or third time that — especially [Caldwell-Pope] — went at him in that way.”
The best-of-seven series shifts to Orlando for Game 3 on Friday.
Information from ESPN’s Baxter Holmes and The Associated Press was used in this report.
