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Jayson Tatum Dominates with 51-Point Game to Propel Celtics to Eastern Conference Finals
As the game progressed on Sunday, Jayson Tatum hit a 3-pointer and in the third quarter, he outscored the entire Philadelphia 76ers team by himself. At that moment, he faced the loud Boston crowd and released a cathartic shout.
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“This is my s—,” he said.
In NBA history, Tatum managed to score 51 points, which is the highest ever in a Game 7, and helped the Celtics advance to the Eastern Conference finals with a 112-88 victory. This broke the record set by Stephen Curry only two weeks ago, who had scored 50 points in Game 7 of the Golden State Warriors first-round series against the Sacramento Kings.
Tatum achieved a remarkable performance in the playoff game by scoring 50 points, grabbing 13 rebounds, and providing five assists while making 17 out of 28 field goal attempts. This feat made him one of the five players in NBA history to have accomplished at least 50 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists in a playoff game.
“It’s a movie,” Celtics guard Marcus Smart said. “It’s a big movie. Being able to just sit back, eat your popcorn and watch.”
Having a tough time shooting in Game 6 didn’t stop Tatum from bouncing back with an outstanding performance in Game 7, which was one of the greatest in the history of the team. He managed to contribute to 62 points by either scoring or assisting, surpassing the impressive duo of the Sixers’ Joel Embiid (who scored 15 points) and James Harden (who scored nine points), who, combined, only managed to score or assist in 44 points.
According to ESPN’s tracking data, Tatum managed to score all 51 points in the half-court while facing five different defenders, which also included 17 points against Embiid, the predicted MVP for the 2023 NBA. Although Tatum finished fourth in the award voting this season, which was his personal best, by the end of the game, the crowd at TD Garden was cheering for him with “MVP” chants.
Tatum expressed that Sunday’s game was an opportunity for the Celtics to make up for their previous loss in Boston where they were jeered by their own fans. However, Tatum struggled greatly at the beginning of Game 6, only hitting one of his 13 shots in the first three quarters. He improved later in the game and scored more points.
“I was really excited just for the moment, to be able to come out and play today,” Tatum said after Sunday’s game. “It definitely was on my mind that I had played as bad as it could get for 42, 43 minutes. We have a saying, ‘It’s only up from here.'”
Right from the start of Game 7, it was evident that he was primed to retaliate. Tatum managed to accumulate 25 points in the initial half, which is a significant improvement compared to his performance in the first half of Games 4, 5, and 6 combined when he had only scored 18 points.
Prior to Game 6, Tatum shared that he was overly focused and anxious about his performance. He was preoccupied with thoughts of how many points he needed to score and was too consumed by the magnitude of the moment. However, he felt more at ease during the most recent game. Before the game, he felt more like himself, he was calm and even found himself laughing and joking. Tatum believes that he performs best when he’s enjoying himself and not stressing about the pressure or what others will say. Therefore, he made a conscious effort to concentrate on the game and simply enjoy himself.
Despite both of their star players struggling, the Sixers managed to lead after the first quarter and were only trailing 55-52 at halftime. However, in the third quarter, Boston pulled away from Philadelphia by outscoring them 33-10. During this period, Tatum scored a remarkable 17 points, almost twice the Sixers’ total, thus sealing the game in Boston’s favor.
When inquired about witnessing a playoff performance similar to Tatum’s, Sixers coach Doc Rivers recollected only one that came close to it.
“I’ve seen one. And it was in this building, unfortunately,” Rivers said. “And it was LeBron [James]. That’s the only time I’ve seen a performance like that live and I’m glad that I haven’t seen many. … [Tatum was] unbelievable.”
For the second year in a row and the fifth time in the last seven seasons, the Celtics have progressed to the conference finals.
“A team that we’re extremely familiar with,” Tatum said about the matchup with Miami. “A very well-coached team, they compete with the best of them, play hard. They defend, they make plays and they figure out a way to win games. It’s going to be fun; it’s going to be highly competitive and I’m looking forward to it.”
The Celtics overcame a 3-2 deficit in the series by winning two straight games to secure their victory. This scenario was quite similar to what the Celtics experienced during the Eastern Conference semifinals last year when they came from behind to beat Milwaukee 3-2 and advanced to the conference finals.
According to research conducted by ESPN’s Stats & Information, the Celtics have achieved a remarkable feat by winning seven series after being down 3-2, which is the highest number of such victories by any team in the history of the NBA.
“You always come into a series with the expectation of how it’s supposed to go, and it’s just not how the playoffs are,” Celtics first-year coach Joe Mazzulla said. “We just handled the ebbs and flows of a series. Never got too emotionally high, or too emotionally low. We had rough patches, but we were able to keep our emotional togetherness intact, which I think is important in the playoffs.”
The Celtics have been drawing on their past playoff run after their loss in the NBA Finals last season to propel them forward this season. “Unfinished business” has been their motto throughout the year, and it was prominently featured on the video board before Game 7.
After the other leading teams in the conference were knocked out, Caesars Sportsbook listed the Celtics as -500 favorites to defeat the Heat (+380). Towards the end of the fourth quarter, Celtics supporters were already looking ahead to the next challenge and chanting “Beat the Heat”.
According to Al Horford, the Celtics stayed united and focused during the game against the Sixers, who are a highly skilled team. He acknowledged that the matchup could have been a conference final or even a Finals match if they were on the other side. Horford credited the Sixers for their abilities and acknowledged that both teams played well, but the Celtics were able to come out on top.