Jayson Tatum took over for the Boston Celtics in their Game 4 victory over the Orlando Magic and made NBA historical past within the course of.
The six-time All-Star completed with 37 factors and 14 rebounds within the Celtics’ 107-98 win. He was 14-for-14 from the free-throw line, making him 26-for-26 on FTs over his final two video games.
Based on Celtics stats guru Dick Lipe, Tatum is the primary participant in NBA playoff historical past with a minimum of 35 factors, 12 free throws, and a 1.000 free-throw share in consecutive video games. He scored 36 factors whereas making all 12 of his free throws in Boston’s Game 3 loss, a recreation he was initially listed as doubtful to play in due to a wrist injury.
Tatum tweaked his wrist once more in the course of the fourth quarter of Sport 4. It did not seem to hassle him over the ultimate couple of minutes.
The 27-year-old recorded 16 factors within the fourth and did not again down when Orlando acquired bodily. He and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, whose exhausting foul brought on his wrist harm in Sport 2, got technical fouls after bumping each other, and Tatum laughed off a lightweight shove from KCP.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla praised Tatum’s method.
“Simply poise. Poise. Having an understanding of your surroundings,” he mentioned. “Clearly, some shot-making there, however on the identical time, bodily drives and attending to the free-throw line.”
Kristaps Porzingis, who completed with 19 factors on 7-of-14 taking pictures, is impressed with the expansion he is seen from his famous person teammate since becoming a member of the C’s final season.
“The three that he hit in direction of the top of the sport, I believed to myself, ‘This man is particular,'” Porzingis mentioned of Tatum. “From after I acquired right here to now, he is developed much more of a killer intuition.”
Regardless of successful his first NBA championship final yr, Tatum continues to play with a chip on his shoulder. After watching co-star Jaylen Brown earn Jap Convention and NBA Finals MVP honors, Tatum completed simply exterior the highest three in NBA MVP voting for the 2024-25 season. To not point out, his forgettable Olympic experience has undoubtedly fueled his fireplace all through the marketing campaign.
Tatum will look to remain scorching and lead the C’s to a series-clinching win at TD Backyard on Tuesday night time. Tip-off for Sport 5 is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports activities Boston.
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