NEW YORK (AP) — Celtics star Jayson Tatum won’t be far from Madison Square Garden when Boston faces a must-win situation against the New York Knicks on Friday night as the defending champions attempt to force a deciding Game 7.
Tatum has been released from a New York hospital following season-ending surgery to repair the ruptured right Achilles tendon he suffered late in Boston’s 121-113 loss to the Knicks in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals matchup.
The 27-year-old All-Star had the opportunity to meet with his teammates Thursday at the team's hotel for the first time since he was carried off the court with the injury. He had what the team said was successful surgery on Tuesday and has been recuperating in New York.
“It sucks to see someone go down like that who doesn’t deserve it,” Celtics guard Sam Hauser told reporters from multiple outlets at the team’s shootaround Friday morning. “But he wouldn’t want more than us to just keep winning. We saw him yesterday. He seems to be in good spirits. Definitely thinking about him and trying to get some wins for him.”
Tatum is facing around a nine-month recovery from his injury. When Kevin Durant tore his Achilles tendon during the 2019 NBA Finals, he wound up missing the entire 2019-20 season.
While playing for Tatum is a rallying cry for the team headed into Game 6, Celtics guard Payton Pritchard said seeing their “brother” was an emotional lift for everyone.
“We didn’t talk about basketball at all. That stuff is bigger than basketball now,” Pritchard said. “It’s seeing how he is as a person, how he’s dealing with stuff. The basketball side, we’ll handle that. But just want to check-in as a friend.”
If the the Celtics win on Friday night, Game 7 would be Monday night in Boston.
Boston is looking to become just the 14th team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a best-of-seven series.
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Kyle Hightower, The Associated Press
