Celtics

Jayson Tatum further adds to his legacy with 51-point masterpiece in Game 7 triumph

"I was really excited, just for the moment to come out here and play today."

By Conor Ryan

May 14, 2023

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Jayson Tatum didn’t mince words following Boston’s season-saving victory on Thursday night.

The Celtics’ star carried his team in crunch time down at Wells Fargo Center, outscoring the entire Sixers roster, 16-13, in the fourth quarter to keep Boston off the ropes in a do-or-die Game 6.

Tatum’s late-game heroics bailed out what was shaping up to be a disastrous showing on the court for the 25-year-old forward. Entering the fourth quarter, he was 1-for-14 from the field on Thursday. During Games 3-6, Tatum only sank four of his 30 field-goal attempts in the first half of action.

A win is a win. But Tatum wasn’t looking to mimic another roller-coaster performance in Game 7 on Sunday night.

“I don’t want to do this [expletive] again,” Tatum said Thursday. “Hopefully, that’s a one-time thing. Hopefully, I start off better, things like that. But if this is what it takes for us to win, I’ll go for whatever. Sunday is obviously a big game, Game 7, and I’m excited to go back and kinda redeem ourselves in front of our home crowd.”

What a difference a few days can make.

Tatum did far more than just redeem himself, keeping Boston’s hopes for Banner 18 alive.

He rewrote the record books in the process.

With another trip to the Eastern Conference Finals hanging in the balance, Tatum submitted a legacy-defining performance in Game 7 against the Sixers, scoring 51 points en route to Boston’s lopsided 112-88 victory. 

Tatum, who added 13 rebounds, five assists, and two blocks in the series-clinching triumph, set a new NBA record for the most points scored in a Game 7. Only John Havlicek (54 points, 4/1/73) and Isaiah Thomas (53 points, 5/2/17) scored more points in a single playoff game in Celtics history. 

“Coming off last game — obviously finished strong, but not starting off the way I wanted. Especially with our season being on the line last game … we had another opportunity today as a team and for myself just to kind of bounce back,” Tatum said postgame, adding: “I was really excited just for the moment to come out here and play today. …It definitely was in my mind that I had played as bad as it could get for 42 or 43 minutes, whatever. And we have a saying, ‘There’s only up from here’”.

It didn’t take Tatum long to start dicing up Philadelphia’s defense on Sunday.

Following a six-game slugfest where Tatum struggled to get into a groove offensively at the jump, Tatum’s fourth-quarter salvo in Game 6 carried over into Sunday’s showdown.

Tatum opened his scoring surge with a two-handed slam just 2:37 into the contest, a precursor to a first half where the shifty 6-foot-8 forward torched the Sixers inside the arc with an array of stepback jumpers and crafty layups.

He finished the first half with 25 points, the second-most scored in the half of a Game 7 by a Celtics player in the last 25 years. Only Paul Pierce (26) had more during his shootout with LeBron James during the 2008 Eastern Conference Semifinals.

“JT just got it going and get out of that man’s way,” Jaylen Brown said of Tatum. “He just got it rolling. And there’s nothing they could do to stop [him].

“They started trying to double-team him, and it just gave open looks to other guys and when JT is playing like that, we’re gonna be extremely hard to beat. … I think everybody should go buy some of those new JTs that he just dropped.”

Tatum’s scorching start helped Boston take a 55-52 lead at halftime. But as Philly’s execution sputtered coming out of the break, Tatum twisted the knife.

Philly’s attempt to negate Tatum inside with double-team defensive efforts was an expected adjustment made by Doc Rivers and his staff.

But against some superstar talents, sometimes you just have to shrug your shoulders.

After only attempting two 3-pointers in the first half, Tatum buried the Sixers in the third quarter, sinking all four of his shots from deep as part of a 17-point showing in the stanza. For the second game in a row, Tatum outscored the entire Philadelphia roster, 17-10, in a quarter.

By the time the dust had settled in the third, the Celtics were in the midst of a rout. Boston outscored the Sixers 33-10 over those 12 minutes, triggering the most lopsided quarter in a Game 7 since at least 1997.

“He’s learned how to problem solve so that he can recognize matchups, coverages,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said of Tatum’s ability to score in multiple ways. “So he can anticipate the next coverage, he can see the spacing.

“He can put guys where they are and make the right play. And so that, to me, is the evolution of players — can they problem solve over and over again? He’s done that.”

Tatum’s performance on the Garden floor on Sunday was arguably one of the greatest single-game performances put forth on Causeway Street. 

Rivers remembers a familiar masterclass doled out against him, during his tenure as Boston’s head coach.

“I’ve seen one. And it was in this building, unfortunately. And it was LeBron,” Rivers said. “That’s the only time I’ve seen a performance like that live. I’m glad that I haven’t seen many.”

James’ 45-point, 15-rebound warpath against Boston in Game 6 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals stands as far more than just a repressed nightmare lingering in the collective subconscious of Celtics fans.

A year after a crushing Finals loss in 2011, James’ season-saving masterpiece marked his ascension into rarified air — eventually spurring his team to a long-awaited championship. 

The Celtics will hope for a similar result this summer with their own superstar.