With a 50-point display, young Jayson Tatum commanded the Boston Celtics’ victory on Friday against the Brooklyn Nets, who dominate the first-round series 2-1, as the Atlanta Hawks advanced 2-1 against the New York Knicks.
At 23, Tatum achieved one of the best performances of the NBA playoffs that eclipsed the Nets’ trio of superstars of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving, who had been dominating the tie with an iron fist.
The forward fell just 4 points away from equaling the playoff scoring record of a Celtics player, the NBA’s most winning franchise alongside the Lakers, set by John Havlicek in 1973.
Tatum is also the third-youngest player in history to score at least 50 points in the playoffs, second only to Rick Barry (1967) and Michael Jordan (1986).
The Celtics needed a step up from their star, who was not shining in the series, to prevent the Nets from taking a 3-0 lead, which neither team has been able to overcome.
“We gave everything we had (…) I’m just trying to play better. I tried to redeem myself from my first games, “said Tatum, who also added 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 1 block to his account.
The ‘Big 3’ of the Nets returned to focus the offense with James Harden adding 41 points and 10 assists and Kevin Durant another 39 points and 9 rebounds.
Irving, on the other hand, had a difficult night with just 16 points on a 6/17 shooting from the field.
The point guard was playing in front of a crowd at TD Garden for the first time since leaving the Celtics in 2019, and received boos throughout the night from the 5,000 fans in attendance.
The atmosphere grew hotter during the week with Irving’s comments about racism in Boston that sparked a lot of controversy and were responded to by some Celtics players. (AFP) (GG)