The Boston Celtics got a win in their playoff series against the heavily favored Brooklyn Nets on Friday night, thanks to a remarkable performance from 23-year-old forward Jayson Tatum.
James Harden (41) and Kevin Durant (39) combined for 80 points for Brooklyn, but Tatum took things to another level with a 50-point effort to lead Boston to a 125-119 victory. Tatum went 16-of-30 from the field, 5-of-11 on threes, and was extremely efficient from the charity stripe by making 13-of-15 free throws. He also had seven assists, six rebounds, two steals, and one block.
Tatum delivered the dagger to reach 50 points with this pull-up jumper over Durant:
More tweets on Tatum’s amazing Game 3: ‘
Tatum making Celtics history
He's the first Celtic since Isaiah Thomas to drop 50 in the playoffs. pic.twitter.com/buUToQtPC8
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 29, 2021
It may take a few more performances like this one from Tatum to have any sort of chance vs the three-headed monster of Durant, Harden, and Kyrie Irving. But the Celtics at least got a victory and have made it a series.