‘That’s game’: What Jayson Tatum said about his game-winning shot in the Celtics’ win over the 76ers
Tatum fought through his shooting struggles and made a 3-pointer with a second left to give the Celtics the win.
Jayson Tatum didn’t make as many shots as he would’ve liked to on Saturday night, but he made the one that mattered the most — and he called it, too.
After Joel Embiid hit a pair of free throws to tie Saturday’s Celtics-76ers game up at 107-107, Boston called timeout with 10.1 seconds left to bring the ball to midcourt. Tatum got the ball, but was fouled as the 76ers had a foul to give with 5.2 seconds left.
Boston called another timeout and came back out in the same set it was in before. Once again, Tatum got the ball after starting in the backcourt, dribbled at full speed, and stopped right behind the 3-point line to create enough separation to get a clean shot over 76ers guard De’Anthony Melton.
The shot went in, as did Embiid’s heave right after, but that one didn’t count, so the Celtics pulled away with a 110-107. Tatum, who was 6-of-16 from the field with 15 points prior to that shot, had a good feeling he was going to hit the game-winner.
“Coming out of that timeout, I told Grant [Williams], I said, ‘That’s game.’ I told him, ‘It’s game time. We’re going home,’” Tatum recalled to reporters following the game. “I knew it had been a tough night. But it was a perfect story, right? Tie game, five seconds left, haven’t been shooting well. Come through for the guys when you need it the most.”
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said that he actually stole the play from one of his predecessors, Brad Stevens. The play also wasn’t foreign to Tatum.
“Get some separation, make a play,” Tatum said of his shot. “Felt him leaning, snatched it back. It’s a move and shot that I worked on thousands of times before.”
Tatum played poorly on the offensive for much of the game prior to his game-winning shot. In the first three quarters, he shot just 4-of-12 from the field and committed five turnovers, leading to a rare night in which the Celtics played worse with Tatum on the floor than with him off (he posted a plus/minus of minus-six).
But Tatum played better in crunch time. He nailed a 3-pointer to put the Celtics up 102-97 with 3:16 left. He assisted Al Horford on another 3-pointer that put the Celtics up 105-103 with 1:38. On the Celtics’ ensuing possession, Tatum crashed the boards following Grant Williams’s 3-point miss, tipping the ball in (like he did Thursday night against the Pacers) to put the Celtics up 107-103 with a minute left.
Tatum didn’t even draw iron on a shot that would’ve put the Celtics up by five with 26 seconds left. But he said had to remain confident.
“Obviously, I wasn’t playing well, shooting the ball well,” Tatum said. “Always shoot the ball with confidence and believe that the next one is going in no matter what. Shoot the right shot. If you miss five in a row and the next one you wide open, you got to shoot it. That’s what’s best for the team.”
Tatum doing what’s best for the Celtics has helped them all season, and that’s why they improved to a league-best 44-17 with their win on Saturday.
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