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Jayson Tatum takes over fourth quarter, slams door shut on 76ers in Game 3
Tatum scored 11 points in the final frame, including a dagger 3-pointer with 26 seconds left.
Jayson Tatum sure didn’t look like he was playing in just his 19th game of the season on Friday night.
The Celtics superstar was in peak postseason form in Game 3, going for 25 points, four rebounds, and seven assists. He did most of his damage against the 76ers in the fourth quarter.
Tatum scored 11 of his points in that final frame, forcing Philadelphia to chase the game late. He made two 3-pointers in the final two minutes of action, including a dagger that put Boston up six with under 30 seconds to play.
“I’ve been here before,” Tatum said in his on-court interview after the game. “Just the mindset of ‘do whatever it takes to win.’ When you’re trying to win a championship, when you’re trying to compete and make a run, it can look different every single night. Just give the game what it needs, and as long as you win that’s all that matters.”
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It was business as usual for Tatum in the postseason; he is already above 3,000 career playoff points as of Saturday. Only Larry Bird, John Havlicek, and Kevin McHale have more as Celtics, and Tatum is only 28.
Although he took some time to find his rhythm, Tatum is averaging 21.8 points and 10 rebounds per game this season. He admitted he’s “obviously not 100 percent yet,” but his game is in a good place.
“I’ve been doing a really good job of keeping things in perspective,” Tatum said. “I was out for such a long time. It may not seem like it but, I can’t stress it enough, the fact that I get to put my uniform on … it’s a win for me.”
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After the game, Joe Mazzulla praised both Tatum and Brown for bouncing back from the losses.
“[Their experience] shows up in how you handle playoff losses, how you handle a bad game,” Mazzulla said. “Their poise on a day-to-day basis … having a clear idea of what’s at stake and what’s needed.”
Friday night gave the Celtics a bounce-back win to take a 2-1 series lead over the 76ers. They’ll play game 4 in Philadelphia on Sunday night at 7 p.m.
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