Jayson Tatum didn't exactly predict that he'd take the game-winner against the Philadelphia 76ers, but he was determined to make something happen for the Boston Celtics.

Coming off the timeout before he launched the game-winner during Saturday's Celtics-Sixers showdown, Tatum revealed that he had a strong three-word message to his teammate Grant Williams: “it's game time.”

Tatum acknowledged the fact that it had been a tough night for him, but at that moment, he knew he had to step up and take over for the Celtics. Fortunately for him, despite his struggles throughout the game, his teammates trusted him to take that final shot.

The Celtics were a bit lucky that Joel Embiid's desperation heave that went in didn't get off his hands in time. Had he done it half a second earlier, the game would have proceeded to overtime.

However, it also speaks volumes of how mentally prepared Tatum was to make the shot. There were just five seconds left in the contest, and he couldn't time his shot any better. He made the triple and gave the Sixers little time to even stage a comeback to tie the game.

Tatum undoubtedly showed Celtics fans that they have nothing to worry about even in games where he isn't playing up to his usual standards. Games like that may happen, but as everyone has seen, the star forward won't let it deter him from taking the big shots when the team needs it the most.