With eight seconds left in the first half of the Game 1 matchup between the Boston Celtics and the Atlanta Hawks, Jayson Tatum dribbled by the logo and sized up his defender Saddiq Bey.
These are the type of moments that Tatum thrives in—clock winding down, his number called up. A screen switched up the man in front of him. Now Tatum had John Collins, a 6-foot-9 athletic and pesky defender with long arms. After Clint Capela, the Hawks bet on Collins as their second-best shot-blocker. That didn’t matter to Tatum.
The clock was down to five seconds, which for some, may indicate panic time. But for Tatum, it’s bucket standard time. Derrick White tried to pin down Collins from behind with a fake screen, just enough to shake his balance. That’s all that Tatum needed.
One crossover dribble then Tatum set his feet for a 3-pointer, a full step behind the line. Collins’ long limbs and quick reflexes couldn’t stop it. The 3 splashed with 2.4 seconds left at the half. The Celtics were up by 30.
TATUM PUT THE CELTICS UP 30 AT THE HALF 🍀 pic.twitter.com/0HqCoFymbG
— ESPN (@espn) April 15, 2023
These are the kind of plays that make Tatum who he is: a cold-blooded and brave soul who has unlimited resources to get a bucket. By halftime, Tatum already scored 21 on 9-of-15 shooting and three 3s (not-so-fun fact for the Hawks: the Celtics are undefeated this season when Tatum scores more than 20 points at the half).
The game was pretty much over at that point, which is less about the huge deficit but more about how both teams were performing. The Celtics were hitting on all cylinders, relentless on defense, serious, tough. The Hawks looked tired.
Tatum went on to score only four more points, finishing with 25. With that, he did something remarkable as a scorer. Only three players in league history have scored 20 or more points in 50 playoff games before they turned 26 years old. They are Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant. Add Tatum to that group.
This milestone was certainly motivation for Tatum, on top of the drive to get back to the NBA Finals where—if this time is a success—Banner No. 18 awaits. If the wounds of 2022 are to heal, there’s no better place to begin than in Game 1 of the first round.
“He's more locked in, he's more vocal, like you could hear it in his voice. The tone of his voice has changed. He's serious and as am I,” Jaylen Brown, who led Boston in points with 29, said of his teammate.
While Brown and Tatum double-teamed in scoring, Marcus Smart and White—who scored 24 points of his own—held the fort on the defensive end.
They made life hard for Trae Young, who scored only 16 points on 5-of-18 shooting and just one 3-pointer. The rest of his teammates only hit four more 3s.
As history has proven, Atlanta is a team that can adjust, adapt and turn it around. They definitely showed glimpses of that to close the game, cutting the 32-point lead to as low as 12. That’s the closest they got.
If Tatum and the Celtics continue this trend, the Hawks making it to the playoffs will be the happiest they’ll be.
