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 dropped him hard to the ground, sparking a brief scrum led.

The Heat forward came hard on his Celtics counterpart with exactly 60 seconds to play in Boston’s 20-point blowout (114-94) at TD Garden, running into traffic in the paint as Tatum widened Miami’s backboard stood and looked to add to his rebounding tally.

Tatum’s teammate Jaylen Brown, who had 17 points and eight rebounds on the night, then got in Martin’s face as both players had to be separated by in-game officials before double technical fouls were issued to each player.

NBA commentator Brian Calabrine — a member of the Celtics’ 2008 championship team — described the mistake “as shady” in the NBC Boston cast, while Martin told reporters afterward that he tried to help Tatum get back on his feet before Brown intervened .

‘I tried to help [Tatum] up,” Martin said after the game. “Obviously I hit him pretty hard. The momentum carried me. I think I was pushed in that direction, but, you know, a hard mistake. I tried to pick him up. It just is what it is.’

The Heat forward crashed into the paint for a rebound as Tatum faced the hoop

The referees had to separate Martin and Jaylen Brown after the Celtic came in to replace Tatum

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla expressed excitement and anticipation for Taytum’s reaction, saying nothing that the 26-year-old, five-time All-Star was “fine” after the incident.

‘I waited to see what he was going to do. I was a little excited about the whole situation. So I enjoyed watching it,” he said.

Tatum ultimately recorded his first career triple-double with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, leading the Celtics past the Heat and opening 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 ruined the Celtics’ NBA Finals dreams last season by jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the conference finals and then blowing it in Game 7 in Boston.

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

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

Bam Adebayo scored 24 points for Miami, which played its second straight game without star Jimmy Butler after 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 much different feel without Butler, whose postseason heroics were key to Miami’s run from play-in qualifier to the NBA Finals a year ago.

Boston defeated the Heat in all three regular season games this season, including a 33-point drubbing in Miami. This weekend’s game was similar, with the Celtics jumping the Heat from the opening game.

Game 2 is Wednesday in Boston.