Despite a game-high 42 points, Jayson Tatum’s efforts on the court remained short-handed. Once again, the Knicks made a strong second-half comeback to win game 4 in the iconic Garden. Now the Celtics are 3-1 down and staring at bowing out in the semifinals despite being the favorites. However, that’s not the only cause of concern for the Boston fans. An injury with close to 3 minutes left in the final quarter to their superstar will add salt to the wounds.

Jayson Tatum went down with a noncontact injury, and to make matters worse, he needed wheelchair assistance to go back to the locker room. With fans eagerly waiting for the update about the 6x NBA All-Star, the tweet from the NBA is not about that. The league is celebrating a milestone for the Missouri native after another solid game.

“Congrats to @jaytatum0 of the @celtics for moving into 12th on the all-time playoff 3-POINTERS MADE list!” With 286 3s to his name, he overtook Derek Fisher (285) and now is just 6 behind his mentor and idol–Kobe Bryant. Even in the 4th game, Jayson Tatum attempted 16 from beyond the arc and converted 7 from those. This series has been mixed when it comes to his and Boston’s shooting outside the paint.

In Game 1, Tatum converted 4 but attempted 15 shots, a poor 27% 3-point shooting. Even in the following game at the TD Garden, it was 1-5. However, it got better with them traveling to Madison Square Garden, where the 27-year-old shot 56% from beyond the arc (5-9). As stated before, his shooting in game 4 was also on point before the unfortunate injury, which may have decided the series’ fate.

What happened to Jayson Tatum? And are the playoff chances truly done?

After Jaylen Brown turned the ball over, Tatum tried to stop OG Anunoby and dove for the loose ball. Thus, his leg planted weirdly, and just like that, he was down with a non-contact injury. Face-first on the Garden hardwood, the 6x All-Star was gripping his lower right leg as the entire arena went silent. He was eventually helped off the court, unable to put any weight on his right leg, and put in a wheelchair.

Yes. A wheelchair. That’s how bad the outcome was. LeBron James, a mentor figure, quickly took to X to send prayers to Jayson Tatum. “🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾 Big Deuce.” After the game, naturally, the question to the HC was about the Celtics forward’s injury. But Joe Mazzulla kept it under wraps. “It’s a lower-body injury and he’ll have an MRI tomorrow,” he told reporters. “We’ll see where it goes from there. It’s tough to see a guy like him get carried off. He’s the type of guy who gets right up.”

Even though the coach did not share any details, fans on social media got the nerve-wracking update. However, Dr. Evan Jeffries, a DPT and well-known injury analyst, shared, “With that step back on the right and his reaction, the fear, would be for an Achilles tear. Let’s hope the video lies.” If it’s what the doctor predicts, then it’s a season-ending one for Jayson Tatum. Which means the Celtics will be without their star in do-or-die game 5 at the TD Garden.