'Tatum's reaction is really impressive': NBA fans laud Jayson Tatum for remaining calm after Caleb Martin's shove in garbage time

The Boston Celtics routed the Miami Heat 114-94 in Game 1 of their opening-round matchup behind a Jayson Tatum triple-double. However, the Heat remained aggressive even when it was clear there was no comeback in store.

This was evident when Caleb Martin tried to chase down a rebound but ended up causing Tatum to take a nasty fall. Martin looked like he recognized his error and appeared to be on the way to help Tatum up but was shoved out of the way by Jaylen Brown.

Meanwhile, the Celtics star forward who had just taken a tumble simply got back up and began to calmly walk away as an altercation was brewing.

[Highlight] (Full sequence) Tatum takes a scary fall on his back late in the game after a physical play from Martin, Heat and Celtics players have to be separated by officials. Multiple technicals called (with replays) byu/Far-Asparagus6416 innba

Being on the receiving end of a hard fall would usually cause tempers to flair. As such, Jayson Tatum's calm demeanor drew plenty of praise from NBA fans.

"Tatum's reaction in this whole clip is really impressive, he's making me root for him," u/hippo_king11 commented.

Comment byu/Far-Asparagus6416 from discussion innba

"It was a really smart on Tatum's part. Heat were trying to get an emotional reaction, change the energy next game. Tatum said nah, not taking the bait, gonna take care of business and move on," commenter u/HudsonSir added.

"As a Sixers fan, I'll never root for any Celtic, but major props to Tatum on that whole sequence. Can't handle it better than that," u/CoreyC1313 said.

Meanwhile, one commenter pointed out that the only reason Tatum reacted so calmly was that he did not realize just how bad the play looked to the rest of the people who saw it.

"I'm convinced he was able to stay calm because he didn't realize how dirty it was. Most players would've lost their shit if they realized they got Heat Cultured at the end of the game like this," u/Routine_Size69 commented.

Somehow, some fans found a way to bring LeBron James into the conversation. Several people who saw the play decided to talk about how the 39-year-old would react if the same happened to him.

"If that was LeBron he would be down for 10 minutes," u/LnGrrrR wrote.

Commenter u/Hopsalong responded to that comment by citing an incident that occurred during the Denver Nuggets-LA Lakers matchup recently.

Comment byu/Far-Asparagus6416 from discussion innba

Regardless of what happened, seeing any player get back up after taking such a scary fall is enough for any fan to breathe a sigh of relief.

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Jayson Tatum records his first playoff triple-double

Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics are locked in and understandably so. They want revenge on the Miami Heat, the team that stunned them in the Eastern Conference finals last season and robbed them of another chance to play in the NBA Finals.

This year's matchup between the two bitter rivals looks different from the one they had last season.

First of all, they are battling in the first round instead of in the conference finals.

Second, the rosters look different from last year. The most notable change is that Jimmy Butler is absent. Not because he's moved on somewhere else but because he got hurt in the play-in tournament on Wednesday.

Regardless of the circumstances, Jayson Tatum looks ready to lead his team to another NBA Finals run. He started this playoff campaign with an impressive stat line, securing his career's first postseason triple-double: 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.