Jayson Tatum’s 50 points lead Celtics back into series with Game 3 victory over Nets
Celtics #Celtics
With Jaylen Brown sidelined and Kemba Walker struggling, Jayson Tatum was left little choice but to try to carry the Celtics to an unlikely win in this series against the Nets mostly on his own.
The Nets were aware of this fact, too, and they swarmed him accordingly. But Tatum has shown during this dominant season that sometimes a defense’s approach makes no difference. And Friday night, with the Celtics’ frustrating season seeming to be veering toward a fast end, the All-Star forward stepped forward and provided a glimmer of hope.
Tatum erupted for 50 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds, guiding the Celtics to a 125-119 win that pulled them within 2-1 in this best-of-seven series. Friday’s crowd was lively, but TD Garden remained at just 25 percent capacity. Those limits will be lifted for Sunday’s Game 4, and those fans will arrive with a belief that hardly existed before this matchup.
Over the past few days much of the focus in this series surrounded Brooklyn point guard Kyrie Irving’s searing comments about potentially facing racially charged language while playing in front of fans in Boston for the first time since his departure two years ago. He was booed every time he touched the ball and chants were directed at him — sometimes with expletives — throughout the night. In the game, was unable to get untracked, scoring 16 points on 6 of 17 shooting.
James Harden led the Nets with 41 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds, and Kevin Durant scored 39 points. Marcus Smart had 23 points and Tristan Thompson added 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Celtics, who shot 50.6 percent from the field. Robert Williams, one of Boston’s few bright spots in the start of this series, suffered an ankle injury in the first quarter and did not return.
The Celtics pushed ahead 67-57, in the third quarter before the Nets responded with a 16-5 run that was capped by an Irving jumper that gave Brooklyn a 73-72 lead. But with Walker struggling and Tatum facing traps and double teams, Smart stepped forward when his team needed him most. He drilled three 3-pointers in less than two minutes, including a four-point play as he was fouled by Irving, helping the Celtics surge back in front.
Then Tatum took it from there. The All-Star scored nine points in the final 2:49 of the third, using a dizzying array of jump-shots that left the Nets wondering what more they could do to stop him. Boston took a 96-84 lead to the fourth.
After the Nets sliced a 16-point deficit to 5 in the final minute, Tatum calmly put them away by drilling a contested 20-footer that pushed him to the 50-point mark for the third time this year.
Observations from the game:
· Tatum was just 9 for 32 over the first two games of this series. This week the Celtics spoke about the need to more effectively attack Brooklyn’s screen-switching defense, and Tatum did that masterfully. Time and again he hunted switches involving either Nets center Blake Griffin, who cannot keep up with him, or Irving, who cannot match up with him. He mixed in daring drives to the rim with an array of jumpers, and Brooklyn had no answer.
· Irving played his first game in front of fans in Boston since leaving the Celtics after the 2018-19 season. When he was asked Tuesday how he expected fans to react to him he said he hoped there would be no “racism going on” as fans made their voices heard. Those comments became the primary storyline over the past few days and seemed to shift the spotlight off of Irving and onto Boston’s crowd.
Irving was booed loudly during pregame introductions as well as every time he touched the ball and in the first half there were a few scattered “Kyrie sucks” chants. With 5:11 left in the third quarter Irving fouled Smart on a 3-pointer. As the officials reviewed to see if Irving had committed a flagrant foul by not giving Smart space to land, fans started a loud and expletive-laced chant directed at Irving. The point guard stood on the court by himself and used hand gestures to tell them to say it louder. When play restarted, he raced upcourt and missed a 3-pointer.
It’s unclear whether Irving was fazed by the reaction, but through the first three quarters he had a minimal impact, going just 4 for 13 from the field with 2 assists.
· Kemba Walker was questionable to play Friday because of a bone bruise on his knee. The injury did not appear to be affecting his mobility, but the night was a struggle for him. He started the game just 1 for 8 from the field and 0 for 4 on 3-pointers and went to the bench after picking up his fourth foul with 7:18 left in the third quarter. With Jaylen Brown out, it’s stunning Boston led much of the game despite Walker’s difficulties. He hasn’t been able to find a rhythm in any game of this series.
· The start of Friday’s game mostly looked like a continuation of the first two games in Brooklyn. In a blink, the Nets drilled four 3-pointers and surged to a 19-4 lead. In a way, this may have been the best thing that could have happened to the Celtics. The Nets were already brimming with confidence, and their hot start seemed to be another example of their superiority, and it appeared to cause them to ease up a bit. The Celtics closed the second quarter with a 10-0 run and took a 33-32 lead to the second.
· After the Game 2 loss Celtics coach Brad Stevens vowed to shuffle his rotation a bit. Jabari Parker and Aaron Nesmith, who played extensively in the first two games of this series, did not appear in the first half. But second-year wing Romeo Langford got an extensive opportunity. Brooklyn left him wide open beyond the arc, a fair approach given his shooting portfolio, but Langford drilled a pair of them to give Boston’s offense a boost. He also grabbed three first-half rebounds and the Celtics outscored the Nets by 18 points during his 15 minutes on the court.
· Thompson spoke Friday morning about the importance of the Celtics playing a bruising, physical style that made the Nets know they were there. He backed up those words in the first half, particularly by battling under Boston’s basket. He had seven offensive rebounds before the break while the rest of the Celtics and the Nets combined for four. After drawing a foul on one offensive rebound, he strutted toward midcourt and gestured to the fired-up fans, which just fired them up more.
· Robert Williams suffered a sprained ankle during his six-minute first half stint and did not return. Williams has also been dealing with a lingering turf toe injury. Grant Williams played some small-ball center with Williams out. In the second quarter he held up well in an isolation situation against Irving and then swatted a Harden layup attempt.