Celtics’ Trust in Jayson Tatum Paid Off vs. 76ers in Game 6

Although the Boston Celtics were finding success against the Philadelphia 76ers early on in Game 6, the team’s star forward, Jayson Tatum, was not having one of his finest performances.

In the first quarter of action, Tatum checked in for the entire period. Taking five shots from the field, Tatum failed to hit on any of his attempts. He went to the charity stripe for one free throw. After having a 12-minute shift to begin the game, Tatum scored just one point.

The second quarter was a similar showing. Hopping on the court for a little under nine minutes, Tatum went scoreless after taking five more shots. He went into halftime 0-10 with one point in nearly 21 minutes of action.

Fortunately for the Celtics, they were out in front amidst Tatum’s out-of-character struggles. At halftime, the Celtics led the Sixers 50-43.

For a moment, the Sixers shifted the momentum of the matchup. In the third quarter, Philadelphia outscored Boston 30-21. As the Celtics struggled in the shooting department throughout the start of the second half, Tatum still couldn’t gain a rhythm, as he shot just 1-3 from the field, scoring two points in ten minutes of action.

The Celtics never lost faith in their star. Although he was shooting 1-13 from the field and couldn’t hit on any of his six attempts from three, the Sixers were benefitting from a Tatum slump. However, the Celtics trusted to put the game that was getting away from them in the hands of Tatum despite his earlier struggles.

“His poise got him going,” said Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, referring to Tatum. “With the standard that's set for him to where he's not scoring or not playing good basketball is wrong. He's had multiple games this series where he's not at his best. He doesn't need to score. I thought it was his communication with his teammates. I thought his defensive intensity, even his force trying to drive the ball, kept him in the game. So he plays with a level of poise regardless of the game.”

“We rely on him,” Malcolm Brogdon added. “He is our guy, and he's proven that he is reliable in those moments. I don't think there's any doubt in anybody's mind. It doesn't matter how many shots he missed in the first three quarters. He is going to finish the game for us. We encourage him. He's not a guy that needs a lot of talking. He's a guy that is highly critical of himself and demands the highest level for himself, so we know he's always going to bounce back. He's a superstar, so he's going to make shots when we need to make shots. “

Tatum stepped up to the plate when his team needed him the most. As the star forward stayed on the floor for the entire fourth quarter, he started to gain a rhythm. Putting up eight shots, with five of them coming from beyond the arc, Tatum was suddenly nearly flawless offensively in crunch time.

“So many things are going on in the course of the game,” Tatum said. “I’ve played a lot of games, and I know it's not all about scoring. So at that moment, still be aggressive, and make the right play. You know I just kept looking at the time, I just kept telling myself, I got time to make a difference and I believed that.”

With a little bit of self-belief and a ton of encouragement from his Celtics teammates, Tatum led the way in the fourth quarter for Boston on Thursday night. As the Cs outscored the Sixers 24-13 in the fourth quarter, Tatum was responsible for 16 of his team’s points.

“He's one of the best players in this league,” Celtics guard Marcus Smart said of Tatum. “He makes the big bucks for a reason. Let it go — it's gonna come to you — let the game come to you. Just let the game come to you and take what they give you. Don't make it hard on yourself, and do what you do. When he starts to calm down, he starts to get into a rhythm and feels good.”

The Celtics avoided elimination by defeating the Sixers 95-86. With that Boston win, the Sixers and the Celtics will require a Game 7 in their series to settle the score. While Tatum bounced back at the perfect time in Game 6, the Celtics will certainly need him to come out with that same fourth-quarter mentality on Sunday to avoid the Sixers snagging a third win at TD Garden this postseason.