Jaylen Brown lifts up Jayson Tatum following loss in NBA Finals

Celtics

Jaylen Brown lifts up Jayson Tatum following loss in NBA Finals

On a difficult night for the entire team, Jayson Tatum may have struggled the most relative to expectations for the Boston Celtics.

Tatum finished with only 13 points for the C’s in a 103-90 loss to the Golden State Warriors which ended his season, shooting 6 of 18 from the field with three rebounds, seven assists and five turnovers in 40 minutes.

Forsberg: Celtics left to ponder what could have been

Teammate Jaylen Brown was still there to pick Tatum up postgame, however. 

“I just gave him a hug, man,” Brown said. “I know it was a tough last game.”

Brown was the best player for the Celtics in the elimination game, finishing with 34 points — tied for second-highest of his postseason career — on 12 of 23 shooting, including 5 of 11 from 3-point range. But like Tatum and everyone else in green, Brown struggled to take care of the ball, finishing the game with five turnovers as well.

“I know that obviously it was a game we felt like we could have won,” Brown said. “It stings that we kind of didn’t play to our potential, but it is what it is. You’ve got to learn from it and move on. As tough as it is, it’s been a great year, been a great journey…It just wasn’t our time.”

Tatum’s 13 points were his third-lowest in 24 games this postseason for the Celtics. For the Finals, he averaged 21.5 points, his lowest of any series in the playoffs.

“This is tough, getting to this point and not accomplishing what we wanted to,” Tatum said. “It hurts.”