It was all over for the Boston Celtics with 2:18 left in the fourth quarter. The Golden State Warriors were behind by as much as eighteen points when Klay Thompson made a three-pointer.
Although they couldn’t capitalize on opportunities to score, the Celtics were ultimately defeated despite having a chance to win.
With 18 seconds remaining and the score tied at 121-121, Chris Paul missed a three-pointer, giving Boston the opportunity to win the game by grabbing the rebound. The Warriors were frantically trying to get back on defense, so there was no timeout called. Jayson Tatum attacked Jonathan Kuminga to start and finish the play.
Tatum didn’t get behind the wheel until the shot clock was down to less than five seconds. He withdrew just when it seemed like he may pass Kuminga and drive straight into Stephen Curry. Once Kuminga got up, Tatum faked a pump, and when the Warriors rookie went back up in the air, he took a disputed long-range two.
On a night when the Celtics were unable to get out of their own way at the worst possible circumstances, it was the last of Tatum’s awful shooting display, which ultimately resulted in an overtime win for the Warriors.
Tatum returned to the locker room in the first quarter due to an ankle ailment, and he seemed to be in pain the whole time. Tatum said, “Not to make excuses, but when you sprain your ankle, it kind of swells up and is just stiff.” It just makes moving a bit more difficult. I was outside still. You really can’t manufacture an excuse not to go out and play, in my opinion.
Tatum said that his ankle problem caused him to have a difficult start to the game, but it did not justify his offensive decisions against the Warriors.
Tatum went 3-of-6 in the paint, which is a plus. Nevertheless, he only made two of the eleven shots he took outside the paint, which lessened his downhill success.
Tatum made all but one of his non-paint shots contested, pull-up threes, or, most of the time, both. The lone exception to these rules occurred after an offensive rebound by Derrick White resulted in the ball being sent out to Al Horford, who then swung it to Tatum for an open three at the top of the key.
Tatum was utterly dominate by Golden State throughout the whole game, and even if he did end up with seven assists, his shooting decisions cost the Celtics points at key moments. Especially the last regulation play.
For the most of the game, Jaylen Brown had been the Celtics’ greatest isolation scorer. White was radiating heat from every direction. And Horford was wide open on the opposite side of the floor, despite having a difficult shooting night.
Nevertheless, Tatum made a poor last-second shot despite being hurt and having one of his worst shooting games of the year.
Tatum is among the NBA’s top players. During the course of a game, he will take several disputed shots since he can make them. But he needs to be better there.
He shoots 2 of 10 from beyond the arc in the build-up, but this Celtics squad is too excellent for him to attempt a contested three-pointer with the game tied.
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