Last June, in the days following the Celtics’ Finals loss to Golden State, Jayson Tatum went dark. Friends couldn’t reach him. Most family, either. His longtime trainer, Drew Hanlen, said he had never gone more than a week without at least a text from Tatum. This was longer. When Tatum finally reemerged he was stunned by how often he was congratulated for a successful season. What are you congratulating me for, Tatum wondered. We lost.
Nearly a year later, Tatum faced the possibility of an even darker summer. Through three quarters of Game 6 of the Celtics semifinal series against the 76ers, Tatum was awful. He had six assists, picked up a couple of steals and contributed to a stingy Boston defense. But he couldn’t make a shot. He was 1-of-13 entering the fourth quarter. He was 0-of-6 from three. While Tatum struggled, Philadelphia erased a seven-point halftime deficit and surged to a two-point lead.
Losing in the Finals was hard.
Losing in this series to this team in this way?
For Tatum, that might have been worse.
It didn’t happen. Boston beat Philadelphia 95–86 on Thursday, forcing a Game 7. In the closing minutes, Tatum led the way. A three-pointer with 4:14 to play started it. It was followed by another three 30 seconds later. A third three gave the Celtics an eight-point lead with just under two minutes and a fourth pushed it to 11 with 37 seconds to play. After scoring three points in the first three quarters, Tatum racked up 16 in the fourth.
JAYSON TATUM. 3 CLUTCH TRIPLES.
— NBA (@NBA) May 12, 2023
CELTICS UP 8 WITH LESS THAN 2:00 TO GO.
📺: Live on ESPN pic.twitter.com/vVLWj4nEOZ
When the final buzzer sounded, Al Horford wrapped an arm around Tatum at center court.
“I let him know,” said Horford, “he is that guy.”
In six years, Tatum has had plenty of success. He’s been to three conference finals. He’s been to one NBA Finals. He’s been an All-Star since his third season and on Wednesday was named first team All-NBA for the second year in a row. But this was special. Rarely has Tatum shot so poorly. For three quarters, nothing was working. Three-pointers. Pull ups. Layups. Everything rimmed out.
Matt Slocum/AP
“Being transparent,” Tatum said, “that s--- was frustrating.”
In huddles, teammates offered encouragement. Horford. Marcus Smart. Malcolm Brogdon. They urged him to focus on defense. On rebounding. On finding ways to impact the game. “I know it’s not all about scoring,” said Tatum. “I just kept telling myself [that] I’ve got time to make a difference.” Jaylen Brown was particularly vocal. Keep going, Brown said. I believe in you. They can’t guard you. Stop being apprehensive. In the fourth quarter, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla pulled Tatum aside and said simply, “I love you.”
“He’s always going to bounce back,” Brogdon said. “He’s resilient. He’s a superstar.”
While pushing Tatum, the Celtics were carrying him. Smart scored 22 points. Brown added 17. Brogdon scored 16 off the bench. The defense limited Philadelphia to 36.1% shooting and just 23.5% from three-point range. Before the game, Mazzulla tweaked the starting lineup, re-inserting Robert Williams. The two-big lineup was effective. Williams scored 10 points. He pulled down nine rebounds. He blocked two shots. Boston bludgeoned Philadelphia on the glass (50–38) and with Williams patrolling the middle held the Sixers to 32 points in the paint.
“His presence contesting shots, altering shots, that makes a difference,” Tatum said.
Said Brown, “Defense has been the story for us.”
The Celtics kept it close. And then Tatum blew it open. It was the first three-pointer, said Sixers coach Doc Rivers, “got him going.” The last one sent what was left of a once-raucous Wells Fargo Center crowd streaming towards the exits. “Once he got it going,” Rivers said, “It’s hard to turn him off.”
Game 7 is Sunday in Boston, where everyone will feel the pressure. Philadelphia had a chance to advance to its first conference finals in the Joel Embiid era and now must win another game in hostile territory. The Celtics temporarily salvaged their season but will need to win one more to avoid a disappointing finish. Tatum and Brown both called for energy inside TD Garden on Sunday, where Tatum hopes to pick up where he left off in Philadelphia.
“I don’t want to do this s--- again.” Tatum said. “Hopefully that’s a one-time thing. But if this is what it takes for us to win, I’ll go 0-for-whatever.”
