When Caleb Martin collided with Jayson Tatum in the final minute of the Boston Celtics' Game 1 win over the Miami Heat on Sunday, Jaylen Brown was the first person on the scene.
Brown slapped Martin's hand away as the Heat forward attempted to help Tatum off the floor and had some choice words for Martin, resulting in technical fouls for both players as the two had to be separated.
After the Celtics' practice Tuesday, Brown detailed the message he had for Martin immediately after the incident.
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"I just told him to watch that, making sure it's basketball plays being made out there," Brown told reporters, as seen in the video player above. "We know they like to play hard and be physical, but it's a line, so just making sure that we're not compromising the integrity of the game. So, I just told him to watch it.
"At the time it looked like -- you can't tell all the components, but from what I had seen, that's all I did. I just let him know that."
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While some thought Martin's foul on Tatum was dirty -- NBC Sports Boston's Brian Scalabrine wondered if Martin and the Heat were trying to send a message in the final minute of a lopsided loss -- the Heat forward insisted his actions weren't intentional, even claiming he was pushed in Tatum's direction.
Brown seemed to agree with Martin after watching the replay, but he felt fully justified in sticking up for his teammate in the moment.
"I'd seen a guy go down, and I've got my guy's back 10 times out of 10," Brown said. "You couldn't tell what's what in the heat of the moment, but it looked like something a little extra, so I said something. But it looked like it was just basketball, it wasn't intentional, so we keep moving. JT gets up, goes to the other side, knocks down some free throws."
Tatum popped up immediately after the foul and strode toward the opposite free throw line, as if to make a point that he wasn't phased by Martin's actions. Brown clearly appreciated how his fellow All-Star handled the situation.
"That's what it's about," Brown said. "We don't have to entertain the shenanigans, but at the same time, we're not going for nothing extra this series. Just being professional, and we're doing our job of making sure that we've got each other's back."
This is the perfect balance for Brown, Tatum and the Celtics to strike. They're a much more talented team than the Heat and should win this series in short order if they don't lose focus retaliating against Miami's physicality. At the same time, hard fouls on their star players shouldn't go unchecked, and Brown has sent that message loud and clear.
Game 2 is set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET at TD Garden, with Mike Gorman and Scalabrine calling the game broadcast for NBC Sports Boston and pregame coverage beginning at 6 p.m. ET with Celtics Pregame Live.