The 2023 NBA Playoffs had been most forgettable for Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum. He had some duds against the Philadelphia 76ers in their Eastern Conference semifinal series that put his team up against the wall, leading to a Game 7 in Boston.
Despite some struggles, his teammates and coaches never lost confidence in him. They knew that he could explode at any moment. It turned out he was just saving the best for last as Tatum went off on Sunday afternoon.
Tatum erupted for a record 51 points, leading the Celtics to a 112-88 victory. He broke the Game 7 scoring record set by Stephen Curry just two weeks ago when he poured in 50 against the Sacramento Kings in their first-round series.
“I was really excited just for the moment, to be able to come out and play today,” Tatum said after Sunday’s game. “It definitely was on my mind that I had played as bad as it could get for 42, 43 minutes. We have a saying, ‘It’s only up from here.'”
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Jayson Tatum & Boston Celtics Updates
He had some truly brutal shooting games throughout the postseason, but Game 7 was not one of them. Tatum knocked down 17-of-28 shot attempts, going 6-of-10 from 3-point range and 11-of-14 from the charity stripe. He added 13 rebounds and five assists in a memorable performance to help his team advance.
“It’s a movie,” Celtics guard Marcus Smart said. “It’s a big movie. Being able to just sit back, eat your popcorn and watch.”
It was a great bounce-back for Tatum, who shot 5-of-21 in Game 6. But the stage was set for his monster Game 7 performance in the fourth quarter of that dud as he knocked down his last four shots of the game, all 3-pointers, en route to outsourcing the 76ers by himself, 16-13.
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Jayson Tatum & Boston Celtics Updates
Out of the 112 points that the Celtics scored on Sunday, Tatum was responsible for 62 of them, outperforming the 76ers’ star duo of Joel Embiid and James Harden. That performance drew praise from Philadelphia head coach Doc Rivers.
“I’ve seen one. And it was in this building, unfortunately,” Rivers said. “And it was LeBron [James]. That’s the only time I’ve seen a performance like that live and I’m glad that I haven’t seen many. … [Tatum was] unbelievable.”
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Jayson Tatum & Boston Celtics Updates
The Celtics are now heading onto the Eastern Conference Finals, where they will be facing the Miami Heat for the third time in four years. With each team winning once, this will be the tiebreaker of their trilogy as Boston looks to advance to the NBA Finals for the second straight year.
