Domantas Sabonis just spoke about injuring Jayson Tatum in Celtics vs. Kings

On Monday night, the Boston Celtics won their sixth game in a row and their 11th game of their last 12, picking up a victory over the new-look Sacramento Kings. Led by Jayson Tatum and Luke Kornet two-man actions, the Celtics slowly whittled the Kings down. Unfortunately, the win was marred by a brutal blow late in the third quarter.

Tatum went up for a three-pointer (which he made), but Kings star Domantas Sabonis closed out too much, cutting under Tatum and getting into his landing space area. The Celtics forward went down in a heap, holding his ankle while rolling around on the ground.

He went back to the bench, came back onto the court to shoot his two free throws to make one (because the play was ruled a Flagrant 1 foul), and then proceeded to exit the game.

Domantas Sabonis feels 'horrible' about Jayson Tatum incident

Shortly after, the Celtics ruled Tatum as “doubtful to return” due to an ankle sprain, and he did not end up reentering the contest.

After the game was over, Sabonis spoke about the incident after the game, stating just how bad he felt about what happened. (H/t Matt George of ABC10)

“I feel horrible,” Sabonis said. “I’ve had a crazy month myself, personally, and you never want that to happen, you know? So, I apologize.”

Sabonis sprained his own ankle a little over a week ago during a win over the Memphis Grizzlies. Monday’s contest against Boston was his first time back on the court since that incident. He stepped on Grizzlies rookie Jaylen Wells’ foot while going up for a layup, twisting his ankle. The Kings star immediately went back to the locker room.

It’s fairly clear that Sabonis had no intention of injuring Tatum. The closeout was certainly reckless, and that’s why he earned a Flagrant foul, but it wasn’t a malicious act. Sabonis and Kings head coach Doug Christie were even standing over Tatum after the play, trying to make sure he was okay.

The good news for Tatum and the Celtics is that the injury doesn’t seem to be quite as bad as it first looked. Tatum told Ramona Shelburne of ESPN that he’s just a little “sore,” and Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe noted that Tatum wasn’t wearing a boot after the game.

There are roughly three weeks until the start of the NBA Playoffs, so Tatum should have plenty of time to rest up and let his ankle heal before that time comes around.