In a change of scenarios, Boston dealt a blow as Jayson Tatum out for Game 7 vs. Sixers

BOSTON — The shocking news came down about an hour and 45 minutes before the start of Game 7 at TD Garden that Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum would not participate, as he is battling a sore left knee.

Tatum missed all but the 16 games he played late in the season after missing most of the year with a torn Achilles. He was grabbing at the leg quite a bit during Game 6 in Philadelphia and played 29 minutes during the Sixers' 106-93 win. Then word came just before game time that he was out for Game 7.

"He just came in today with knee discomfort," said Boston coach Joe Mazzulla. "It's the back of the knee. He's listed as day-to-day."

Of course, should the Sixers pull out the victory, there will be no more days for the Celtics this season as they've seen a 3-1 series lead dissipate with two consecutive Philadelphia victories.

"Obviously, it will change some matchups and things like that," said Sixers coach Nick Nurse. "They played a lot, the majority of their season without him and played very, very well. They've got enough games under their belt and have guys they trust."

The Sixers were also dealt some news on availability when it was announced that Paul George woke up not feeling well. The team listed him as probable on the injury report throughout the day. 

"He woke up this morning not feeling well," said Nurse. "We're expecting him to give it a shot here. He didn't go through shootaround or anything, but we expect him to give it a shot."

Tatum averaged 23.3 points for the series and shot 47.5 percent from the floor. He and Jaylen Brown have been the focal point of the Sixers' defense during their comeback in this series.

For Boston, it's yet another adjustment when it comes to not having Tatum.

"I think our season was just about creating identities," said Mazzulla. "Obviously with who's in and who's out. Several times throughout the year, even when Jayson was out, other guys were out and we had to play another type of way. So, I think that's what the season's for, to create and find identities and throughout a playoff series you try to lean on a few of those so a couple of the identities that we had throughout the season, we'll lean on tonight.

The decision was made to sit Tatum after he started feeling the pain on Thursday and then didn't respond well the past couple of days.

"At the end of the third (on Thursday), I know he was in back getting treatment and then talked to him yesterday and today he came here and he had stiffness in it and we made the decision for him," said Mazzula.

The Sixers know all too well about injuries in the playoffs. This time, however, it's a far different circumstance.