Boston Celtics
Tatum is expected to play, Mazzulla said.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla (right) tries to figure out what’s going wrong with forward Jayson Tatum during the second quarter. Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
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The Celtics are on the brink after 76ers take Game 6: 7 takeaways
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TD Garden has been a house of horrors for the Bruins in the playoffs. How can they counter it?
Jayson Tatum is expected to play in the Celtics’ matchup against the 76ers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference first round at TD Garden on Saturday, according to coach Joe Mazzulla.
Tatum left the game early during Boston’s loss in Game 6 after feeling some discomfort in his calf. He said he was feeling some stiffness in his left leg, which is not the same leg that he had his Achilles tendon surgery on last May.
Mazzulla was asked for a status update on Friday, along with what the Celtics are doing to get Tatum prepared.
“I mean, he said he was playing right?” Mazzulla said. “He’ll play.”
Mazzulla said he expects Tatum to be fine. The star forward played 29 minutes in Game 6 on Sunday, his fewest of the series. He still managed a 17-point, 11-rebound double double in the loss.
Tatum said after the game he was not too concerned about the injury and that the game was out of reach in the fourth quarter, leading to the starters being taken out.
“Y’all probably saw when I went to the back,” Tatum said. “So I was on the bike. My leg was just a little stiff when I came out in the third quarter. But just kind of assessing the moment like the game was a little out of reach. We took the starters out.”
A Celtics win on Saturday would send them to the second-round against the Knicks, a rematch of last year’s series during which Tatum suffered his Achilles injury and the Celtics were eliminated.
A Celtics loss would end their season. The last time the Celtics faced a Game 7 was in 2023 against the Heat at TD Garden. Boston climbed back and tied the series from a 3-0 deficit, only to see Tatum get hurt in the elimination game and Jaylen Brown commit a career-high eight turnovers.
This time, it’s the Celtics who blew a 3-1 lead and are heading back into action following back to back losses.
Boston played most of this season without Tatum and still wound up with the No. 2 seed. However, this 76ers team has shown that it can hang with the Celtics at even at full strength.
It’s winner-take-all for Boston and Philadelphia on Sunday. Tatum is expected to be out there and give it a go.
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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