Elimination games have a way of testing every inch of a team’s fabric. You’re the best player in the world.”īeyond just Tatum, the Boston players felt the pressure. Believe in yourself because that’s what you are. I said we trust you, keep making the right read. “And just know that no matter if your shots go down or not, we have your back. “We believe in you, we trust in you,” Williams told The Athletic of his message. Grant Williams said he told Tatum he’s “the best player in the world.” In huddles, Tatum’s teammates stayed on him to remain confident. The timing of it, after Tatum’s rough NBA Finals showing last season, only would have amplified the backlash. A showing like that in an elimination game can stick with a player throughout his entire career. If he had failed to salvage his night and Boston’s season, he would have been bashed for such a weak performance. He committed a clear-path foul midway through the fourth quarter that gave the 76ers an 83-81 lead and the ball. He pulled up for a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter, thought better of his idea and pump-faked into a pass to the wrong team. He opened the game 1 of 14 from the field. The conversations about Tatum would have been ugly if the Celtics had lost. “So it kind of felt good to see everybody getting out they seat and leaving early in that moment.” “I had 43 minutes of them telling me how bad I was,” Tatum said. After the final 3-pointer, which came with less than a minute to play, he spun around and looked into the crowd. Once it did, he buried the 76ers with three more triples while outscoring their entire team 16-13 in the fourth quarter. He felt like he needed to see that shot go in.
His surge started with a go-ahead 3-pointer with 4:14 left. xOIJtqQ3gxĪs the Celtics’ defense held Philadelphia without a field goal for six straight minutes late in the fourth quarter, Tatum lifted himself out of the garbage can and onto a throne. “It was just frustrating,” Tatum said, “until it turned around.”
Boston’s season survived after, in the fourth quarter of a 95-86 Game 6 win, he shook off three-and-a-half quarters of wobbly play to transform into the finisher his team needed.
Just in time for Tatum to rescue himself from a summer of self-reflection. Just in time to save his team from an early exit. His teammates told him his shot would come. With the season ripping apart, the Celtics trusted Tatum to hold it together. “Go get the f-ing ball,” Mazzulla told him. Tatum was five minutes away from the type of game that would make him a punchline for the entire offseason. Inside the Boston locker room, Tatum shared another piece of his coach’s message with The Athletic. Mazzulla would later say he told Tatum he loved him.
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