Jayson Tatum had the final say in Saturday night’s heavyweight battle against the Philadelphia 76ers.
In a back-and-forth instant classic featuring two Eastern Conference NBA title contenders, the Boston Celtics’ talisman received a perfect pass from Marcus Smart in the final seconds. And as guys like Tatum are likened to do, you guessed it — he drained a tie-breaking three-pointer with the defense draped all over him.
With the 76ers needing points to tie it back up at 110 points apiece, Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid drained a three of his own from way downtown. (Unfortunately for the star center, it didn’t count.)
Game, set, match… for the Celtics in a 110-107 win.
In the aftermath of Tatum’s latest masterclass of heroism, the NBA released a “Phantom Cam” angle of his ridiculous game-winning three. And it somehow makes his clutch shot with a high degree of difficulty seem even more absurd:
Jayson Tatum for the win. Bang.#PhantomCam pic.twitter.com/2B7Ocbg3C8
— NBA (@NBA) February 26, 2023
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Everything about this angle is sublime.
There’s Smart’s no-look pass with James Harden closely watching. There’s the pass hitting Tatum in stride as he neared the three-point line. And there’s Tatum stopping on a dime with one smooth crossover to rise for one of the biggest shots of his career.
Truly: perfection, no notes.
For added context on what Tatum achieved on Saturday night, he is now 13-of-26 (50 percent!) on game-tying or go-ahead shots in the last 24 seconds of games in his career. He’s the only player in NBA history to shoot so well on such shot attempts.
Jayson Tatum is the only player in NBA history to shoot at least 50% on game-tying or go-ahead field goals in the last 24 seconds of the 4th quarter (min. 25 attempts).
After Saturday night's game-winner, he's 13-for-26 on such shots (15-for-29 including the playoffs). pic.twitter.com/3aqXmeq1hM
— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) February 26, 2023
The Celtics have been steamrolling the East as the likely NBA title favorites almost all season. It’s no wonder that’s the case when they have the impeccably clutch Tatum on their side.
