Celtics’ Jayson Tatum downplays left wrist injury after Game 3 fall vs. Bucks: ‘When I fall on it, it bothers me’

MILWAUKEE — There was a brief moment of panic when Jayson Tatum went down and stayed down after Giannis Antetokounmpo fouled him in the second quarter of Game 3 on Saturday. Tatum was grabbing at his left wrist after the foul, which came from an and-1 dunk.

While the refs reviewed the play and didn’t deem it a flagrant foul, it was clear Tatum was hurting as he eventually got up. He stayed in the game, knocked down his free throw and finished with a team-high 41 minutes played Saturday. It was a game to forget for Tatum as he finished with just 10 points on 4-for-19 shooting and the Celtics lost to the Bucks 103-101.

Tatum downplayed the injury, saying it’s “healed, but kind of sensitive” after he hurt it during the regular season.

“That’s something I’ve been dealing with for probably like two months now,” Tatum said postgame. “It wasn’t anything abnormal. When I fall on it, it bothers me.”

Tatum was wearing some wrap on his left wrist after the Game 2 win over the Bucks. He shrugged it off then, saying his trainer was “excessive” with the wrap job. But it’s clear that’s something he’ll have to monitor going forward.

The Celtics and Tatum will look to bounce back after losing Game 3 on Saturday. It was a close loss, where the C’s came back from a 14-point deficit to briefly take the lead. But they weren’t able to close out the victory, which came with some controversy because of a non-shooting foul call on Marcus Smart.

The Celtics, though, are now down 2-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Bucks. They now look forward to Game 4, which is set for 7:30 p.m. Monday at Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum.

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