Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
Jayson Tatum has been coming under fire for his somewhat quiet postseason, at least by his own lofty standards. But he brought the heat on Saturday night.
His 33 points, 13 rebounds and six assists led the Boston Celtics to a 106-93 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, giving them an important 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
NBA @NBA
JT knocks down his first 2 attempts from downtown in Game 3 🔥
BOS-CLE on ABC pic.twitter.com/lHVXba47Hr
NBA @NBA
Tatum lays the lob up on a platter for Luke Kornet 🤝
BOS-CLE | Game 3 on ABC pic.twitter.com/2GUwcQAOxW
NBA @NBA
Tatum spins past the defender and throws down the two-hander for 27 on the game 💪
Celtics lead in the 3Q on ABC pic.twitter.com/ipjvvlOVh9
Jaylen Brown had himself a night (28 points, nine boards) as well, spoiling another brilliant showing from Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell (33 points, six rebounds).
It looked like the Celtics might run away with this one after starting off the second half on a 14-0 run, pushing their lead to 23 points. The Cavaliers woke up from there, keeping things interesting in the fourth quarter, but they weren’t able to make up the deficit they dug for themselves.
That left fans and pundits alike singing the praises of Tatum:
Kendrick Perkins @KendrickPerkins
Completely different Celtics team when Tatum decides to be Powerful instead of Popular. Finally ARRIVED to the Playoffs and did it in Great Fashion on the road where Superstars supposed to show up. Carry on…
ryan @quakesthenerd
don’t know who needs to hear it but Tatum is still him
justin @Jdragon_86
No Tatum slander on the TL tonight. Twitter be quiet as hell
RatedR Superstar @ovo_mack
Where all that Tatum talk?
Cory Hartman @CoryHartman3
Tatum haters are real quiet tonight
910 Grand Magic Knight @TKUchiha_
You’ll never hear me complain on an aggressive Tatum night
human torch @curryrange_
Tatum has been elite tonight
Cullen Hawkins @SirCullen
This Tatum right here is best player in the world material
Josesito @beanpapi4
Tatum vs Mitchell is elite basketball both same draft class too
Martino Puccio @MartinoPuccio
This team is painfully annoying but. Jrue and Tatum have been fantastic. The ball moves far too slow on offense and these shot selections are gross. C’s are fortunate CLE has a couple terrible looks. Just take good shots and end this
Celtics Purgatory @CelticPurgatory
Brown and Tatum have put together a game tonight. A few hero ball plays from both but overall a great game so far. Jrue as well. We need Porzingis back. Horford is getting cooked on D.
Coming into Saturday night, Tatum was averaging 21.7 points on 40.7 percent shooting from the field and 26.8 percent shooting from three, all well below his season averages (26.9 PPG, 47.1 percent from the field, 37.6 percent from three).
It had everyone wondering when the Tatum from the regular season might show up. The 26-year-old star has been prone to running hot and cold in his career, especially come the postseason, but he reminded the NBA world of what he’s capable of when he doesn’t just settle for contested jumpers late in the shot clock.
His aggression was important, even if his struggles from three (2-of-8 from deep) persisted. The Celtics aren’t the same without Kristaps Porziņģis, but Tatum and Brown remain enough to take down a team like the Cavaliers if they play up to their respective ceilings.
They proved as much in Game 3.