BOSTON -- There were some fireworks to finish off the Boston Celtics' Game 1 win over the Miami Heat at TD Garden.
With just under a minute to play, Miami's Caleb Martin collided with Jayson Tatum while the C's star was in the air attempting to grab a rebound. Tatum hit the floor hard, but fortunately for Boston, he immediately popped back up unharmed.
His teammate Jaylen Brown took exception to Martin's questionable play, leading to a brief skirmish between the two teams. You can watch the sequence below:
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Brown wasn't the only one upset with Martin. After the game, NBC Sports Boston analyst Brian Scalabrine didn't mince words about what he considered a "dirty play."
"I'm not trying to start nothing here, but (Heat coach) Erik Spoelstra called a timeout with a minute and 30 (remaining) down by 16. ... I don't know, man. That looks shady to me."
"What do you call that?" fellow analyst Eddie House asked.
"Code red," Scalabrine answered. "You know, like in A Few Good Men. 'Did you order the code red?' ...
"And you go at the best player? I didn't like that. ... To me, it's a dirty play. I think Martin should get suspended for that. That's a dirty play. You can't do that. Like, just think about that. The NBA is about the star players. The idea of winning a championship is your star players have to stay healthy. And the guy goes up and you just ram into him? That ain't basketball."
Scal believes the league should consider disciplining Martin for the play.
"Number one, the NBA has to take a look," he added. "I don't know if they're gonna fine him or not. I don't know if they're gonna suspend him. But, like, that's not a basketball play. I don't care what anybody says. Just ramming into a guy that's jumping for a rebound? Did he go for the rebound? ... It wasn't over the back, he trucked him. That's weak. To me, that's weak."
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla didn't seem as miffed by Martin's play as Brown and Scalabrine. Asked what went through his mind after Tatum popped up from the floor, he answered in typical Mazzulla fashion.
“I was waiting to see what he was gonna do. I was kind of excited about the whole situation," he said. "I enjoyed watching it.”
Mazzulla added that Tatum is feeling "fine" after the hard fall. Tatum confirmed the good news during his postgame press conference.
"It's playoff basketball," he said. "A physical game, playing against a physical team, s--t's gonna happen. It's not the last time I'm probably going to get hit like that or fouled in this series.
"I wasn't hurt. You get hit like that, you just get up. And I knew we were in the bonus, so go down there and knock my free throws down."
The Celtics will look to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round playoff series this Wednesday at TD Garden. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Boston with coverage starting at 6 p.m. with Celtics Pregame Live.
