The Boston Celtics extended their win streak to six games with a 113-95 victory over the Sacramento Kings on the road Monday night, but it came at a cost.
Superstar forward Jayson Tatum injured his left ankle with 3:35 left in the third quarter. He made a 3-pointer but landed on Kings forward Domantas Sabonis' foot, which caused him to roll his ankle. Sabonis was called for a Flagrant 1 foul for contesting the shot in Tatum's landing area.
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Tatum was helped to the bench but returned to the court to take his free throws. He then exited the game and didn't return. He finished with a team-high 25 points.
The good news for the Celtics is that it appears Tatum has avoided a serious injury, per ESPN's Ramona Shelburne.
Jayson Tatum seems to have escaped serious injury after turning his left ankle landing on Sabonis’ foot while shooting a 3 Monday night, telling ESPN he’s just “sore” but he still needs to be “cautious.” Tatum has previously injured the same ankle. https://t.co/QLVyKv7k0b
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) March 25, 2025
The Boston Globe's Adam Himmelsbach reported that Tatum "left the arena ... with no crutches or boot, and just a very slight limp."
"He seems to be doing OK," Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters postgame. "He's just icing it right now. I didn't see the play, but they made the right call. It was a flagrant foul. Fortunate that he was able to shoot the free throws. [He's] taking care of it right now."
The Celtics have just 10 games remaining in the regular season. With the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference nearly secured, it'll be interesting to see how the Celtics handle Tatum's workload over the next couple weeks.
Giving him as much rest as possible before the playoffs is the best course of action.
The Celtics resume their Western Conference road trip Wednesday against the Phoenix Suns.
