5 stats to know following Jayson Tatum’s buzzer-beater vs. Raptors
It was the longest buzzer-beater by a Celtic since 2000.
Jayson Tatum drilled a 30-footer at the buzzer Saturday night, lifting the Celtics to a 126-123 overtime victory over the plucky Raptors.
It wasn’t a picturesque play, but Tatum made the most of the situation to hit one of the most dramatic shots of his career to this point.
Here are five stats to know following his late-game heroics:
It was his second career game-winning buzzer-beater.
Do you remember the first? It came in the 2022 playoffs, in Game 1 of the opening round against Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets.
Jaylen Brown found Marcus Smart on the wing. Smart drove, as Tatum slipped past Kevin Durant, and passed it to a cutting Tatum. Tatum spun past Irving and skillfully laid it up and in as time expired.
The buildup to Saturday’s buzzer-beater wasn’t quite as pristine, and the stakes weren’t quite as high, but Tatum managed to make a difficult shot this time as well.
It was the longest buzzer-beater by a Celtic since 2000.
Remember the Milt Palacio miracle in 2000? Palacio stole the inbound pass with the Celtics down two and 1.8 on the clock. He corralled it and fired up a prayer as time expired, and it swished through the net.
That shot was also from about 30 feet away. It’s going to be tough to leapfrog in the Celtics buzzer-beater hierarchy, but don’t underestimate Payton Pritchard.
It was the 50th buzzer-beating game-winner in Celtics history.
According to Celtics statistician Dick Lipe, Tatum put the Celtics in the 50 buzzer-beating game-winner club.
Chuck Cooper hit the first, in 1951, and Derrick White had the last, in 2023, before Tatum’s shot.
It illuminates a larger trend.
Tatum has the most field goals (11) to tie or take the lead in the final five seconds of regulation or overtime since the 2019-2020 season.
Next closest is DeMar DeRozan with nine.
While the percentages aren’t always there, the volume is.
It put him in the company of legends.
With that shot, Tatum became the third Celtic in the last 50 years to have at least 60 points, 20 rebounds, and 19 assists in a two-game span, joining Larry Bird (nine times) and Kyrie Irving, per Lipe.
Tatum also moved past Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most points scored before turning 27 (12,264-12,262) Saturday night.
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