Everything Jayson Tatum said After Boston Celtics Clutch Game 3 Win Over the 76ers

PHILADELPHIA — Jayson Tatum scored 11 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including the dagger three-pointer to seal a Game 3 win over the Philadelphia 76ers and give home court advantage back to the Boston Celtics.

Here’s everything he said after Game 3, with added analysis from me.

On being comfortable in the clutch: “As you probably could imagine, we’ve just been in this scenario time and time again. Times we've fallen short and times we’ve succeeded. It's all about just learning from past experiences and whether it's the first play of the game or crunch time, it's just about making the right read and making the right play.”

Analysis: I do think the Celtics still fall into “hero ball” mode a little too often, but at the same time, they have guys who are capable of making monster shots in moments like this. Tatum just turned 28 and is in his ninth season. He’s a bona fide NBA veteran with some massive moments under his belt. He’s a Hall of Famer if his career ended today, so he’d better be comfortable in the clutch.

Not only that, This game highlighted how much the Sixers have to learn about winning basketball as well. One team was perfectly fine in the muck of a close playoff game. The other was just a little more hopeful.

On being fired up after hitting the dagger three: “I think just first playoff road game I've been in since obviously I got injured. And just the environment, the circumstance of being tied 1-1 and knowing what's on the line and just being in a position to kind of seal the game as a competitor, as a basketball player, just you see those emotions come out in those moments.”

Analysis: Tatum is level-headed and measured off the court. On the court, he’s typically one of the league leaders in technical fouls, so he has a lot of emotion in him when he plays. It might be the only time he feels comfortable showing it, actually.

On hitting the dagger three: “Yeah, I think just off the initial shot when Vooch, the play all started, D-White made a hell of a play getting an offensive rebound.That was big. And we just kind of got our spacing and found a matchup that we wanted and attacked.”

Analysis: There are three things to really love about that play.

One, Tatum made the right play at first, getting the ball over to Nikola Vucevic for a wide open corner three. I can’t, in good conscience, mention hero ball as an issue sometimes and then let a moment of unselfishness in the clutch pass without acknowledgement.

Two, Derrick White’s offensive rebound was such a clutch play that it erases so much of what went wrong for him in Game 3. It says so much about him that he’s able to make these plays in that situation considering how poorly he shot the ball. The man is locked in at all time.

Three, Tatum got the ball back. The Basketball Gods rewarded the right play and hustle by getting the ball back to Tatum so he could get his dagger.

On Payton Pritchard’s shot clock-beating three: “Yeah. I could just speak for myself in those moments, especially today. I just missed being a part of moments like that where it's just a back-and-forth game. Sometimes we had some moments where things didn't go our way and then we had to fight back and get the lead. And it was just a figure-it-out type of game. And make winning plays. The rebound D-White got. The steal that JB got. P hitting that big shot. Just as a basketball player, being on a team where everybody's just contributing and making plays, I just missed being a part of moments like that. And it was just fun.”

Analysis: I like Tatum’s perspective post-injury. Look at how the Celtics closed that game and just appreciate how many people made great plays to win a playoff game. It’s good to see a guy actually appreciate that he gets to be part of that.

I know that you wanted this to go more smoothly than it did. I’m with you. At the same time, the playoffs are unpredictable and this is where the Celtics were in that moment, regardless if that's where they should have been based on expectations.

Finding a way out of that, with so many players involved in getting out of it, is actually cool. I know we all want perfection, and the further we get from it, the worse we feel, but getting so many guys to contribute to a win when things are going so imperfectly is, as Tatum said, fun.

More than that, it’s actually relatable. A game like this is no different than your day at work. It’s chaotic and imperfect, but if you find a way to get the job done, you can go home and say “I’ve earned this glass of wine,” and watch Wheel of Fortune with a satisfied smirk on your face.

I like that Tatum enjoys it more now.

On this being a pivotal game: “Yeah, I think it's just about responding, responding from Game 2 and how we played in that one. And we wanted to play better. We still had 17 turnovers and a lot of ugly possessions. Obviously it was some possessions where we figured it out and made plays to win the game. But just on both sides of the ball, it's a lot of things that we can learn from.”

Analysis: Canned question, canned answer.

This quote is what I like to call a “pacer” quote. It doesn't say much, but it’s a great quote to get from one thought to another. What a beautiful way to get from “we did good” to “we did bad” and transition to a paragraph about the turnovers and sloppy play.

Tatum had seven assists in the game, but this is an eighth for some people’s stories.

On supporting Derrick White during a slump: “Obviously, we need him. I could say it 100 times: We need him, we need him, we need him. And it’s tough. As a basketball player, we’ve all been through it where you’re not hitting shots at the rate that you expect to or want to. Sometimes, you just don't make them. But D-White is an unreal basketball player that still just has his imprint on the game. He makes plays on both ends of the floor, timely plays. But just never lose confidence in yourself. When he's open, we’re going to pass it to him. We want him to be aggressive. Never turn down a shot, and, you know, law averages. He’s going to start knocking them down.”

Analysis: You will get no argument from me here. I think every basketball player should play the way Derrick White plays basketball. Give me 15 Derrick Whites and I’ll go to battle against anyone.

And I know he’s slumping in a big way. White knows it too. He doesn’t want to miss. And, frankly, watching how much he was hitting during warmups, I was sure he’d break out of his slump in this game.

I think a breakout is coming soon, though.

On balancing expectations and feeling more like himself: “There's nothing to really balance, honestly. Like, the mindset that I've had — today was like my 21st game back. I've been able to do a really good job of keeping things in perspective of, like, man, I was out for such a long time. And it may not seem like it because I'm back playing, but it was a very, very long time for me not to be doing what I love to do. So I can't stress it enough: The fact that I just get to put my uniform on and run out there with the team is a win for me. Obviously, I'm not 100% yet and whatnot, but expectations of what people want me to do is the last thing that has crossed my mind. It's just the amount of joy I've been able to find. Just being back out there and being out there with my teammates is, like, all I think about.”

Analysis: Again, Tatum’s perspective on things is spot on.

I’m glad he’s not ALL business here. I’m glad he’s being human and feeling feelings. I’m glad he’s loving these moments and soaking them all in. I bet it feels really good.

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