Celtics' Al Horford - Magic playing with 'extra' physicality - ESPN
BOSTON — Celtics veteran Al Horford reiterated his belief on Tuesday that the Orlando Magic stepped over the line with their physicality on Jayson Tatum in Boston's Game 1 win Sunday.
«Yeah, there was something extra,» Horford said. «There was a lot. It was the second or third time that — especially [Kentavious Caldwell-Pope] — went at him in that way.»
The play that appeared to irk Horford the most was one in which Caldwell-Pope and Wendell Carter Jr. collided with Tatum midair while the Celtics forward was driving for a two-handed dunk in the fourth quarter. The usually stoic Horford expressed his outrage following the play and gestured toward nearby Magic players, especially Caldwell-Pope, who was called for a flagrant foul.
«I'm not sure what goes into [plays like that],» Horford said. "[The] only thing I would say is that it's the playoffs, so the game is going to be more physical, it's going to be more intense. I feel like those plays are probably going to happen more often than not."
Tatum landed hard on his right wrist on the play but remained in the game. He finished with 17 points on 8-of-22 shooting to go along with a game-high 14 rebounds but was seen favoring his wrist.
While X-rays on the wrist were negative, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania that Tatum suffered a bone bruise and his status for Game 2 on Wednesday is up in the air as its a pain tolerance injury. On Tuesday, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said Tatum was able to do «some stuff» at practice and that he was «day-to-day.»
«Just sore after the game; it's gotten a little better today,» Mazzulla said Tuesday. «He's going to go through some on-court work and go from there.»
When asked if he believed the seventh-seeded Magic were trying to intimidate