![]() ![]() "Hopefully, I start off better, things like that. "Hopefully, that's a one-time thing," Tatum said. It's the eighth time Boston and Philadelphia have faced off in a Game 7, the most between two franchises in NBA history.Īnd Tatum will be looking to put this game behind him and get off to a much faster start. Now the Celtics will return to Boston for Game 7 on Sunday. It takes everybody it's a full team effort." And that's all you can ask for, just continue to be the best he can be. He needs to make some adjustments, and he did that. that just goes to show you, Joe is learning. "To have Rob in there, he changes the game a lot. "I was ecstatic about it," Celtics guard Marcus Smart said about Williams being inserted into the starting lineup. ![]() They combined to hold Joel Embiid, who finished with 26 points overall, to 7-for-16 shooting when they guarded him. ![]() When Williams or Horford contested a shot, the Sixers shot 3-for-18 from the field. Boston held Philly to 86 points, its fewest in a game this postseason and second fewest in any game this season. Robert Williams III was inserted into the starting lineup, and both he and Al Horford paid huge dividends for Boston defensively, despite playing just seven minutes together in the first five games. Meanwhile, the Celtics stayed in the game despite Tatum's struggles because of their intensity on defense. I just kept telling myself that I believe in myself 'til it turned around." "Have the same morals, the same character when things go up and down. "Things not going your way and you got to be the same person," he said. He attempted to leave an imprint on the game in other ways - he also collected nine rebounds, dished out six assists with two steals and two blocks - until his shot began falling late in the game. And so, he plays with a level of poise regardless of how the game is going."Īnd despite the shooting slump, Tatum continued to maintain confidence in himself. His communication with his teammates, I thought his defensive intensity, and I thought even his force driving the ball kept him in the game. He's had multiple games this series when he's at his best and he doesn't need to score. "The standard that is set for him to where if he's not scoring, he's not playing good basketball is wrong. "His poise got him going," Mazzulla said. So, the Celtics had confidence leaning on Tatum on Thursday even though his shot was not falling nearly the same way it had in Game 6 a year ago. The Celtics leaned on Tatum to get them out of this situation during last season's conference semifinals series against the Milwaukee Bucks, and Tatum responded with a 46-point masterpiece to force a Game 7 back in Boston. And shots aren't falling, things just aren't necessarily going your way. "In transparency, s- was frustrating," Tatum said after the game. However, no player during that span had three or fewer points through three quarters and then proceeded to outscore the opposing team in the fourth quarter, according to StatsPerform. Tatum became the fifth player in the past 20 years to outscore another team in the fourth quarter of an elimination game, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information. He hit three 3-pointers during clutch time to put the game away, while the Sixers shot 0-for-6 in the clutch. ![]() Tatum finally broke through in the fourth quarter, knocking down four of his eight shots for 16 points, outscoring the Sixers by himself in the final period to help Boston seal a 95-86 victory and force a Game 7. But he kept looking up at the game clock, reminding himself that he still had time to make a difference. Yet, Tatum admitted to feeling frustrated in the midst of a 1-of-13 slump at the start of the fourth quarter, unable to hit shots with the Celtics on the brink of elimination Thursday against the Philadelphia 76ers. "Let him know that he is that guy," Celtics center Al Horford said. "Keep going," Celtics costar Jaylen Brown said. PHILADELPHIA - As Celtics star Jayson Tatum went through one of the worst shooting slumps of his career through the first three quarters of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, he continued to get reassuring messages from up and down the Boston sideline. Jayson Tatum's big 4th quarter keeps Celtics alive against 76ers You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser ![]()
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