Jayson Tatum is the closest in winning over Magic

Down by five points in the last minute against the Orlando Magic, it looked like the Boston Celtics would lose one.

Jayson Tatum wouldn’t let that happen.

Tatum turned into the closest of the team during the game’s most critical moment as he sank two friction baskets in 33 seconds to level the score and went on to earn five more key points in overtime to propel the Celtics to a 122-119 win. . Tatum finished with 29 points out of 10 out of 24 shooting and added nine rebounds and six assists.

Tatum’s rise to superstardom this season includes overcoming the Celtics in adverse situations, and Boston has acknowledged Tatum’s penchant for delivering even in the big moments, so it’s no surprise that the C’s have looked to Tatum over and over against. i Magic.

“I’m not afraid to take that photo even if it didn’t go in,” said Tatum. “These are the moments I live for, but it’s all a matter of the game situation or a match, maybe, or who gets along.”

Tatum wasn’t having a noteworthy exit until he saved the Celtics. Thanks to a very good tip on an offensive rebound from Kemba Walker, Tatum splashed a triple to take the Celtics down to under two and with plenty of time to get a defensive stop and another offensive possession.

The Celtics took care of business on the defensive side and even with a timeout in his back pocket and the regulation clock approaching triple zero, Brad Stevens let his team play because Boston knew who he was going to.

Walker, who had a poor 1 in 9 performance, made sure the ball landed in Tatum’s hands on the right wing. Tatum showed his composure with Markelle Fultz draped over him and lost Fultz in a spin move to reach his favorite spot before taking down a turnaround jumper with 4.2 seconds left to tie things up, 112- 112.

“The big three off the rebound were excellent and then the balance to get that shot and get where he wanted to and take his time and score the ball was good too,” Stevens said.

Tatum could have stopped there and let someone else carry the load in the extra frame, but he continued to rely on himself to secure a win for the Celtics. Boston made sure Tatum continued to receive his touches in overtime by making him pick choices for Marcus Smart at the top of the key to create a more favorable match for Tatum. He was also aggressive during overtime and landed on the free throw line which is always a good sign that Tatum is very busy and then used a hard step to create the separation on Fultz once again before draining a 22-year-old jumper. feet.

“Every good player wants to fire the last two shots,” Stevens said. “But I think he recognizes that there will be times when he will shoot and times when he has to show it off. We have a unique team from this point of view where we have many different guys that we can go to and where we will go. “

But as the Celtics proved against the Magic, Tatum is the # 1 option when they need a basket.