As their Game 1 victory over the Miami Heat deteriorated, including fights with Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Caleb Martin at the conclusion of the game, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown stuck by each other.
Jaime objected to a hard foul during the transition, and Tatum made fun of him for it, asking if he wanted to weep.
“What the f*ck are you doing?” asked Jaime Jaquez Jr.
“You gonna cry?” asked Jayson Tatum.
Then, it appears that Tatum was being aggressive and attempting to get a rebound when Caleb Martin hip-checked him in an attempt to send a message to the Celtics. Brown ran to his teammate’s aid and accompanied Martin back and forth.
“Watch that sh*t,” said Jaylen Brown.
Caleb Martin: “That’s not who you are.”
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.
In the past five years, this squad’s current incarnations have only met four times. Before the Celtics exacted their revenge in a seven-game Conference Finals victory in 2022, the Heat had defeated them in 2020. The biggest surprise came from the previous season, when the eighth-seeded Heat defeated the Celtics in the Conference Finals, almost blowing a 3-0 lead.
Jimmy Butler’s injury sustained in the Play-In tournament means that this year’s series is different. With their 114-94 victory in Game 1, the Celtics have already taken control of this series.
In the victory, Tatum recorded a triple-double of 23 points, while Brown finished with 17 points and 8 rebounds. Martin scored four goals, but his attacking performance was lackluster.
“I know it’s basketball playoffs. They’re such a strong team, and it’s a tough game, so s**t will happen. I’m likely going to get fouled or hit like that again during this series. I suffered no harm.”
One person found the entire experience enjoyable. Joe Mazzulla, the head coach of the Celtics, expressed his excitement over the exchange.
“I was anticipating what he would do. I was a little thrilled with everything. It was entertaining to watch.
Future games in this series will be even hotter, particularly if any of the matchups are closely contested. The Heat are playing with the determination and intensity that is expected of them, even in Jimmy Butler’s absence. Regretfully, they lack the talent to compete.
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