Caleb Martin addresses hard foul on Jayson Tatum. And more Heat notes from Game 1 loss to Celtics

With the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics facing off in the playoffs for the third straight season and fourth time in the past five seasons, the rivalry between the teams continues to strengthen.

Even as the top-seeded Celtics routed the eighth-seeded Heat 114-94 on Sunday afternoon at TD Garden in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series, there was a heated moment between the teams in the final minute of the contest. It came with just 59.4 seconds to play and the Celtics ahead by 16 points.

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Off a missed shot from Heat center Bam Adebayo, Heat forward Caleb Martin crashed the offensive glass in hopes of creating a second-chance opportunity. Instead, Martin collided with Jayson Tatum at full speed and the Celtics’ All-Star forward fell hard on the court.

Martin immediately attempted to help Tatum up in an effort to play peacemaker, but he was shoved aside by Celtics forward Jaylen Brown. Those on the court from both teams converged on Martin and Brown and the situation quickly deescalated without any players seen leaving the benches.

Both Martin and Brown received technical fouls.

“Just a hard foul,” Martin said on Sunday after Game 1, with the teams facing off again Wednesday in Game 2 at TD Garden. “I tried to go help him up. I just heard him hit the floor. Obviously, I know I hit him pretty hard. But momentum was carrying me, and I think I got pushed into that direction.”

While Brown defended his teammate, Tatum quickly picked himself up and walked away after Martin’s hard foul to prepare for his two free throws.

“It’s a physical game, playing against a physical team, [expletive] is going to happen,” Tatum said. “It’s probably not the last time I’m going to get hit like that, or fouled in this series. I wasn’t hurt. You get hit like that, you just get up. And I knew we were in the [free throw] bonus, so go down there and knock the free throws down.”

On the Celtics’ next possession, Martin committed a harmless foul on Tatum and the two slapped hands respectfully after the whistle.

But Celtics television analyst and former NBA big man Brian Scalabrine added fuel to the fire, saying on the Celtics’ postgame show on Sunday: “I’m not trying to start nothing here, but Erik Spoelstra called a timeout with 1:30 down by 16. Thirty seconds later that play happens. Thirty seconds later? Why is he calling a timeout at 1:30 down 16? Why is that play happening 30 seconds later.”

The late-game timeout Scalabrine put in question was mandatory because Spoelstra challenged a foul call on Heat guard Delon Wright.

“To me, it’s a dirty play,” Scalabrine continued. “I think Martin should get suspended for that. That’s a dirty play. You can’t do that. Just think about that, the NBA is about the star players. The idea of winning a championship is your star players have to stay healthy, and a guy goes up and you just ram into him? That ain’t basketball.”

For Martin, he considered his hard foul and what ensued as a sign that the playoffs have begun.

“It’s that time of the year where everything does pick up and intensity picks up and physicality picks up,” Martin said. “No matter what, we got to stay the course and stay mentally stable, especially being in an environment like this and going against a great team. Just keep battling.”

THIS AND THAT

▪ Game 1 was a struggle for Heat guard Tyler Herro, who finished the loss with 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting from the field and 3-of-9 shooting from three-point range. Celtics guard Jrue Holiday spent most of the game defending Herro.

According to NBA tracking stats, Herro scored just three points on 1-of-5 shooting from the field during the 30 possessions that Holiday spent as his primary defender in Game 1.

“Just applying pressure and making things difficult and not really allowing me to get comfortable really from the beginning,” Herro said of the Celtics’ defense. “They did a great job with that. It’s one game, just leave it behind and keep it moving.”

▪ Wright was one of the few bright spots for the Heat in Sunday’s Game 1 loss, finishing with 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field and 5-of-5 shooting from three-point range, three assists and two steals in 26 minutes off the bench. He got hot in the fourth quarter, scoring 15 points on 5-of-5 shooting on threes in the final period.

Wright’s five made threes matched his career high.

“That was pretty crazy,” Wright said of making all five of his three-point attempts in Sunday’s fourth quarter. “I don’t think I’ve ever hit that many in a row. But I just have to take the open shot that they give me.”

▪ The Celtics’ addition of center Kristaps Porzingis continues to be a game-changer in their matchup against the Heat.

With Porzingis finishing Game 1 on Sunday with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 4-of-8 shooting on threes, four rebounds and two blocks, the 7-foot-2 three-point shooting big man has averaged 19.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game on 11-of-22 (50 percent) shooting from three-point range in four games against the Heat this season.

“Last year was a lot easier because they didn’t have Porzingis,” Heat second-year forward Nikola Jovic said. “I think our zone really made a lot of problems for them. I think it can make a lot of problems this year, too. But with Porzingis in the lineup, he stretches the floor and he can just shoot it over almost anyone. It’s just really hard to guard him.”

The Celtics are 4-0 against the Heat this season.

▪ With two days off between Games 1 and 2 in Boston, the Heat and Celtics will issue their injury reports for Wednesday’s contest on Tuesday afternoon.