What a player is Jayson Tatum. The Celtics star dazzled the Washington Wizards last night with 50 points of green pride, an enormous performance that definitively qualified Boston for the playoffs, where they will face the Brooklyn Nets.
Neither dynamics nor anything. A player called to be one of the best of his time dominated the TD Garden. The Celtics’ season has been bad, and after Jaylen Brown’s serious injury there were not a few who were betting that Boston would leave the play-in, yes, but to go home. They were wrong. Tatum said ‘no’. Not that his story in this course 2020-21 ends soon and with a bad taste in his mouth. Sometimes he has been criticized for not leading the team in a vocal way, but he is clear from his exhibition last night that his way of guiding his teammates is different.
“I know that I have earned the respect of my teammates. I have the respect of the guys I play against. I believe in myself. That’s all that matters, “he says after the victory against the capital.
Tatum was great, but on top of that he made a difference when it mattered most. After a good start for the Celtics, Washington reacted to the point of going ahead at halftime by one point (53-54). Tatum ended the rebellion. He got 32 of his 50 points in the second half and set the pace for his team to take off on the scoreboard and experience a placid end to the game. The green forward added 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks to his outstanding performance.
“Jayson was special. It is nothing new to me. I’ve been watching him do this job for the last two years… I’m here for a ride, ”says Kemba Walker, who made a notable contribution to Boston’s triumph by scoring as many as 29 points.
Washington, passed
Criticizing the Wizards is misplaced. Scott Brooks’ men have made the comeback of the season and have played really well in recent weeks. Against Boston, they were simply outmatched by a team that had one of their best performances of the season and, as we’ve seen, by far the best player of the game.
As if it were not enough to overcome 50 points, Washington had a poor performance in the outside shot, and it is that they stayed at 3 of 21 in triples … Brooks understands that this lack of success ended up sentencing them. “We couldn’t find her. We couldn’t find the basket. We have not pitched well all year, but we are not a 3 of 21 team in triples… ”, he laments.
Regarding individual performances, Russell Westbrook had 14 points, 20 rebounds and 5 assists; yes, with a 6 of 18 in field goals. Bradley Beal for his part went up to 22 points and was somewhat better in the launch when concluding with a 10 of 25. Washington will have to play his final playoff pass with Indiana at dawn from Thursday to Friday (in Spain). Whoever wins that game will be the eighth in the Eastern Conference and will face the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round.
(Photograph by Maddie Malhotra / Getty Images)
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