While Jayson Tatum’s play has been the subject of some criticism during the playoffs, it would be hard to find much wrong with his performance on Saturday as the Boston Celtics earned a come-from-behind victory over the Indiana Pacers to take a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Tatum led both teams in scoring, finishing with 36 points. He added 10 rebounds and 8 assists, all while not turning the ball over once. That’s a first in the history of the NBA Playoffs.
“Jayson Tatum is the 1st player in NBA history with at least 36 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists while committing 0 turnovers in a playoff game,” Celtics insider Taylor Snow noted on X (formerly Twitter) after the game.
Tatum’s historic performance earned a lot of praise on Saturday night.
These were not empty stats put up in a loss or blowout win, either. Indiana had an 18-point lead in the third quarter and led by nine heading into the fourth quarter before Boston staged a comeback to ultimately win Game 3, 114-111.
Tatum and the Celtics will go for the sweep on Monday. If they win Game 4, they’ll punch their ticket to the NBA Finals for the second time in three seasons.
[Taylor Snow on X]
About Michael Dixon
About Michael:
-- Writer/editor for thecomeback.com and awfulannouncing.com.
-- Bay Area born and raised, currently living in the Indianapolis area.
-- Twitter:
@mfdixon1985 (personal).
@michaeldixonsports (work).
-- Email: mdixon@thecomeback.com
Send tips, corrections, comments and (respectful) disagreements to that email. Do the same with pizza recommendations, taco recommendations and Seinfeld quotes.