He stayed down for a couple of minutes before limping to Boston’s bench with the assistance of team medical staffers. He walked back onto the court and took the flagrant foul free-throw, and then he walked back to the locker room and never returned to the game.
Tatum declined interview requests, but the apparent low level of concern as he joked with teammates and carried on like usual appeared to be a promising sign. He sat at his stall for nearly an hour without receiving any additional medical treatment.
“I’m glad it’s nothing too bad, hopefully,” Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis said. “It’s a tough situation, tough to see him like that. You could tell he was in a lot of pain, but I’m glad he’s OK.”
The Celtics, who have now won six games in a row and 11 of 12, will likely err on the side of caution with Tatum in the coming days, particularly since they are all but locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. But all signs are that their superstar forward avoided a significant injury.
“I know he’ll do anything and everything to make sure he gets better,” coach Joe Mazzulla said.
Boston’s bench appeared to be furious with Sabonis after he slid under Tatum on the 3-point attempt with 3:35 left in the third quarter. The Kings star returned Monday after missing three games with his own ankle injury, and he expressed remorse after the game.
“I feel horrible,” he said. “I’ve had a crazy month myself, personally, and you never want that to happen, so I apologize.”
Before getting injured, Tatum was in the midst of a vintage performance. He hit a dazzling one-legged 3-pointer in the first half and finished with 25 points, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds in just 26 minutes. Boston led, 79-68, when he exited the game but pushed forward without him, holding the Kings to just 17 points in the fourth quarter.
“Up until the point he got hurt, he was cooking,” Porzingis said. “He was the one carrying us. But then we were able to finish out the job.”
The Celtics on Monday also welcomed back All-Star forward Jaylen Brown, who had missed the previous three games due to a bone bruise on his right knee.
Brown said he has been experiencing some knee pain for a couple of weeks. He met with specialists and it was determined the injury was the result of general wear and tear. He played just 26 minutes against Sacramento and had 9 points and 2 rebounds.
“It felt fine,” Brown said. “I was being a little conservative. When you’ve been out for a while it’s a mental aspect, too, where you just try to keep your feet underneath you. As I gained more confidence I started extending out, being more athletic, and things I’m used to normally doing. Tonight was a good step though.”
Payton Pritchard added 22 points off the bench for the Celtics. And with Sam Hauser (back) out, Brown recovering, and Tatum injured, rookie Baylor Scheierman had another productive night off the bench, with 9 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals.
With 7:50 left in the fourth quarter and the Celtics leading, 97-87, he surged into the paint and tapped an offensive rebound to Derrick White before resetting in the right corner, catching a pass and drilling a big 3-pointer.
The Kings never pulled within single digits again.
“The shooting is important, but the other stuff is more important,” Mazzulla said. “The offensive rebounds, deflections, steals. [Scheierman is] getting more comfortable with the schemes really on both ends of the floor. He’s playing really well.”
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.
