Jayson Tatum’s initial whiff of what’s about to commence in Game 6 Friday night is almost too intoxicating.
The Celtics star has played in three Eastern Conference Finals at the age of 24, and following his 31-point Game 4 performance against Miami, he ended up tied with Larry Bird for the most career playoff points by a Celtic after his first 65 playoff games. Bird has since edged ahead again by six points after Tatum’s 22-point comeback in No. 66 — better known as a 93-80 Game 5 win that has the Celtics within one game of the NBA Finals.
Tatum could be 30, for all of the playoff experience that he has, but there’s something about Friday night that almost has a forbidden nature to it. He doesn’t want himself or his team to screw this one up.
