In another area of concern, Jayson Tatum briefly left the Celtics’ bench after experiencing left leg stiffness during the third quarter. Though he downplayed the issue, which was not on the same leg as his Achilles injury, he will likely be less than 100 percent in the deciding game. After sitting out the final four minutes of the third quarter Thursday, he normally would have returned to the game to begin the fourth. Instead, the decision was made to leave him on the bench.
“I wasn’t like overly concerned,” Tatum said Thursday. “S—, I came out at four minutes like I was supposed to and just kind of assessed the game. And they took the starters out fairly early in the fourth quarter. So yeah, it was not like that big of a deal.”
Over the rest of the game, Tatum spent some time in the locker room, where he received treatment, and on a stationary bike, where he must have heard it from the 76ers fans nearby.