Jayson Tatum undergoes season-ending surgery for ruptured Achilles

Jayson Tatum underwent surgery Tuesday to repair a ruptured right Achilles tendon ending his season and putting his availability for the - campaign in jeopardy No timetable is right now available for his return the Celtics stated in a message confirming the identification but he is expected to make a full recovery Tatum the NBA s highest-paid sportsman and one of its the bulk durable superstars suffered the non-contact injury with three minutes remaining in Monday night s Meeting loss to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden While attempting to beat Knicks wing OG Anunoby to a loose ball he fell to the floor clutched at his right ankle and had to be carried off the court by Celtics staffers President of basketball operations Brad Stevens stepped in to help guide his star competitor who was unable to put weight on his injured leg down the tunnel ESPN s championship broadcast then displayed Tatum face buried in his hands being transported by wheelchair toward the visitors locker room Trailing by seven at the time the Celtics went on to lose - to fall behind - in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals Obviously you re perpetually worried about someone s soundness Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla explained So the fact that he had to be carried off he s the type of guy that he gets right up He didn t And we ll know Tuesday exactly what it is but yeah I mean it s tough to watch a guy like him get carried off like that Tatum s injury left his teammates shell-shocked I think tonight is tough a visibly emotional Jaylen Brown announced at the postgame podium I think everybody s kind of at a loss for words just because one losing the contest but obviously the concern with JT But we pick our heads back up the next morning and go from there I mean at this point I m concerned about Jayson Al Horford added That s the bulk fundamental to me The encounter stuff we ll address it But I m just hoping that he s OK Since entering the NBA as the third overall pick in the draft Tatum leads the league in games and minutes played including playoffs and ranks second in total points behind Milwaukee s Giannis Antetokounmpo He s never missed more than games in a season and didn t sit out his first postseason tournament until last month when a bone bruise in his wrist sidelined him for Meeting of Boston s opening-round series against Orlando Tatum is a six-time All-Star and he almost certainly will be named to his fourth consecutive All-NBA first club when it s declared later this month Last season after a half-decade of near misses he helped propel the Celtics to their elusive th championship leading the company in points rebounds and assists during both the playoffs and the NBA Finals To extend their season and keep their bid for back-to-back titles alive the Celtics now must win three consecutive games without their best sportsman and with a depleted supporting cast Injuries hit Boston s roster much harder this season than they did during last year s title run and several core rotation players have either missed time or been limited during the first two playoff rounds That list includes Brown who s battled a troublesome knee injury since before the NBA All-Star break in February and staring center Kristaps Porzingis who s been slowed by features from a lingering viral illness that have zapped his vitality and impacted his availability Both players struggled in Monday s loss to the Knicks during which the Celtics blew a double-digit second-half lead for the third time in the series Starting guard Jrue Holiday hamstring and reserve wing Sam Hauser ankle each have missed three games this postseason Tatum was terrific before his injury recording points eight rebounds four assists four steals and two blocks in one of the best all-around playoff performances of his NBA career Evolving