Stars are made during the crucial stages of the NBA playoffs. Down 2-3 in their Eastern Conference Semifinals series against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Boston Celtics needed their star Jayson Tatum to put up a great performance to keep their championship aspirations alive.
Jayson Tatum Struggles Early, Makes Up For It
However, that wasn't the case for most of the game. Tatum mightily struggled shooting the basketball, going 1-of-13 from the field entering the fourth quarter.
Midway through the final frame, however, the 25-year-old star hit his first triple of the night, which was the beginning of him finding his groove. He hit another triple shortly to give the Celtics a two-point lead with less than three minutes to go.
With the Celtics smelling blood, Tatum once again hit a pair of triples in the game's decisive moments, with the final one extending the lead to double-digits to put the game away for good.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla stated in the post-game interview that even if Tatum is having a rough time scoring the ball, it doesn't mean he's playing a bad game overall.
The former Duke player scored 16 points in the fourth quarter, including 14 of the Celtics' last 16 points.
After his magnificent performance in the crucial stretches of the game, the member of this year's First Team All-NBA stated, "I'm humbly, one of the best basketball players in the world."
The Celtics look to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday in Game 7.
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