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The Brooklyn Nets looked like they were headed for a clean sweep of the Boston Celtics. But then Jayson Tatum decided he was going to be the best player on the court for Game 3.
On a night where Boston yielded 41 points to James Harden and 39 points from Kevin Durant, both former league MVPs, you'd be hard-pressed to believe the Celtics pull off a win. Jayson Tatum entered that zone only the best of the best can access, when you just decide you're not losing no matter what. We saw it last week when he dropped 50 points on the Washington Wizards in the play-in tournament. He accessed that same zone again much sooner than we would have guessed.
The Celtics star spoke out on what motivated him to go right off:
Jayson Tatum: "Trying to protect home court, trying to get a win at all costs. And sometimes nights like these are needed."
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) May 29, 2021
By the sounds of it, it really does come easy for him. Not many players in the NBA can just decide to have “nights like these” when you outgun some of the league's greatest scorers ever.
He doesn't do himself any favors in making his magnificent night sound so simple when asked on his mindset throughout, via a report from The Athletic's Jay King.
“Just make a play,” Tatum said of his mindset. “Obviously, I knew I had it going, but just trying to see where the help was, if somebody was coming, find an open man. In those situations, just make the right play.”
Kevin Durant is no stranger to lighting it up like the Celtics star did. All the Nets forward could do was acknowledge that Tatum had them that night.
“But for a scorer like that,” Durant said, “once you start to see the ball go into the rim, things become — it just pushes the team to another level.”
Celtics fans better hope Tatum can keep “making plays” as they head for Game 4.
