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Overtime heroics aside, Jayson Tatum thinks Celtics’ Game 1 win didn’t ‘prove anything’
"I know the ultimate goal is to try to win a championship. But one step at a time."
Jayson Tatum might have said it best when describing the Celtics’ come-from-behind overtime win in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
“That [expletive] was chaos. That [expletive] was wild,” Tatum acknowledged after Boston’s 133-128 overtime victory over the Pacers on Tuesday.
In a game where Boston somehow managed to force overtime despite the Pacers holding onto a 3-point lead and possession of the ball with 8.1 seconds to go — Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and the Celtics managed to execute in crunch time.
After a poor shooting stretch in the fourth quarter as the Pacers clung to several slim leads, Tatum made the most of the second chance afforded to Boston after Brown’s clutch 3-pointer carried play past regulation.
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Tatum scored 10 of his 36 points in overtime — accounting for a majority of Boston’s 16 points in the extra frame en route to a momentum-shifting, series-opening win. He added another 12 rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Tatum’s best shot of the night came after Jrue Holiday forced Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton to step out of bounds in overtime — giving Boston possession while holding onto a 124-123 lead.
On the next possession, Tatum received a feed from Derrick White while planted beyond the arc. After getting Andrew Nembhard to bite with a fake, Tatum sank a 3-pointer to give Boston a four-point cushion with 42.8 seconds left on the clock.
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“I think just mentally understand that even though I’ve had spurts throughout big games where I didn’t hit shots or shoot the ball well — it’s as simple as just believing that the next one is going in and always feel like I’m just one make away you know from getting hot or being in a great rhythm,” Tatum said of staying the course amid shooting slumps.
Tuesday stood as an important test for both Tatum and the Celtics when it came to battling against adversity and exiting the parquet floor with ugly wins during postseason play.
But even with the pressure still sitting squarely on the title-favorite Celtics and their top player in Tatum, the star forward doesn’t believe that Game 1 stands as a defining moment for this latest push for Banner 18.
At least, not with plenty of work still to be done in the weeks ahead.
“Prove? It doesn’t prove anything,” Tatum said. “We won a big-time game. Series is far from over. We got to come back and play well enough to win again on Thursday [in Game 2]. So I’m not trying to prove anything individually. I know the ultimate goal is to try to win a championship. But one step at a time. This is a big-time win tonight and come back and get ready for Thursday.”
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