Cavaliers’ head coach offers high praise for Jayson Tatum’s 46-point performance
“Jayson Tatum, that’s one of the most incredible shotmaking games I’ve seen in the league. Just incredible.”
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The Cleveland Cavaliers pulled off a comeback victory against the Celtics on Friday despite a near-triple-double from Jayson Tatum.
The Eastern Conference-leading Cavaliers trailed by 22 points early, but ultimately won 123-116 by fending off 46 points, 16 rebounds, and nine assists from Boston’s star.
Donovan Mitchell’s own 41 points and his team’s come-from-behind win on the road might overshadow Tatum’s performance. However, the 26-year-old’s efforts were not lost on Cleveland’s head coach.
Kenny Atkinson, the Cavs’ first-year HC, spoke highly of Tatum’s play on Friday night and the way he carries himself on the court.
“Jayson Tatum, that’s one of the most incredible shotmaking games I’ve seen in the league. Just incredible,” Atkinson said unprompted postgame. “He’s a great, great player. The league, we all better appreciate him. And he carries himself with class and dignity. Real hats off to him.”
It’s high praise from an opposing head coach coming off a game in which Cleveland could have easily lost and allowed Boston to gain ground on them in the standings.
Tatum started the game hot. He kicked off the first quarter with 18 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and one block. Tatum ended the first half with 30 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists.
According to NBC Sports Boston’s Dick Lipe, Tatum is the first player in league history to finish a first half with those numbers. Plus, Tatum’s final line marked just the third time a player has reached those stats in a game.
Atkinson continued with his glowing assessment of the player.
“I love how he plays the game. Like I said, he’s one of these guys … they don’t talk trash, they don’t celebrate themselves, they don’t make grand gestures when they make buckets. They’re just great players, humble players,” he said.
“Listen, tonight, again, from my point of view, that’s one of the best shot-making exhibitions I’ve seen. JT, he does it on the defensive end, too. You can’t pick on him. He holds his own. We have to appreciate greatness. … It was some performance by him.”
As expected, Tatum didn’t speak as highly of himself when fielding questions after the game. He said he could have done more to put the Celtics in a position to win despite his efforts.
“We played well, but you ask both of us (Tatum and Jaylen Brown), we would much rather have won the game. Can’t win them all,” Tatum said. “There’s things that we both probably could have done to help put the team in a better position. But you learn from it and get ready for Sunday [vs. the Nuggets]. It should be another fun one.”
Brown and Tatum combined for 83 points in the loss, a nearly unfathomable statistic.
The Cavaliers and Celtics split their season series 2-2 following Friday’s final. Cleveland’s (49-10) chances of securing the East’s No. 1 seed increased while Boston (42-18) could be stuck with the second seed.
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