Heat's Caleb Martin slammed for 'shady' foul on Boston's Jayson Tatum in Game 1 of first-round playoff series

Tempers flared in the final minute of the Boston Celtics' first-round matchup against the Miami Heat on Sunday, when Caleb Martin undercut Jayson Tatum on a rebound attempt and sent him crashing hard to floor, leading to a brief scrum afterward.

The Heat forward came in hard on his Celtics counterpart with exactly 60 seconds left to play in Boston's 20-point blowout (114-94) at TD Garden, as he ran into traffic inside the paint while Tatum stood next to Miami's board, looking to add to his rebounding tally.

Tatum's teammate Jaylen Brown, who ended up with 17 points and eight rebounds on the night, got in Martin's face afterward, as both players needed to be separated by in-game officials before double technical fouls were handed to each player.   

NBA commentator Brian Calabrine - a member of the Celtics' 2008 Championship team - described the foul 'as shady' on NBC Boston's cast of the game, while Martin told reporters afterward that he tried to help Tatum get back on his feet before Brown intervened. 

'I tried to go help [Tatum] up,' Martin said postgame. 'Obviously I hit him pretty hard. Momentum was carrying me. I think I got pushed into that direction but, you know, hard foul. Tried to pick him up. It's just what it is.' 

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla expressed excitement and anticipation about Taytum's response, nothing that the 26-year-old, five-time All-Star was 'fine' after the incident. 

'I was waiting to see what he was gonna do. I was kind of excited by the whole situation. So, I enjoyed watching it,' he said.

Tatum ended up notching his first career playoff triple-double with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Celtics past the Heat to open both teams' first-round playoff series.

Derrick White added 20 points and four assists for Boston, which finished with six players in double-figures. 

Miami spoiled the Celtics' NBA finals dreams last season, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the conference finals and then blowing them out in Boston in Game 7.

But Boston fed off the energy of the TD Garden crowd on Sunday, knocking down 22 3-pointers and outscoring the Heat 31-14 in the third quarter. The Celtics' lead grew as high as 34 points in the fourth. Miami used a late run to get as close as 14, but Boston was able to close it out.

Including the regular season, Boston is 38-4 at home and has won its past four meetings with the Heat.

Bam Adebayo scored 24 points for the Miami, which played for the second straight game without star Jimmy Butler following his right knee injury during the play-in round. Terry Rozier also remained out with a neck injury. Delon Wright added 17 points. Jaime Jaquez Jr. finished with 16 points.

Sunday's game had a completely different feel without Butler, whose postseason heroics keyed Miami's run from play-in qualifier to the NBA finals a year ago.  

Boston beat the Heat in all three regular-season meetings this season, including a 33-point drubbing in Miami. This weekend's game resembled that one, with the Celtics jumping on the Heat from the opening tap.

Game 2 is Wednesday in Boston.