Jayson Tatum Sends Message to Chris Paul After Spurs-Celtics

The San Antonio Spurs fell short at the hands of Jayson Tatum's Boston Celtics Saturday night

Mar 24, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) pumps his fist after the Celtics made a basket at the end of the first quarter against the Sacramento Kings at the Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs didn't get any closer to the postseason Saturday night.

Despite still being in the mix for the Western Conference's final spot in the Play-In Tournament, San Antonio's timeline is slim. Facing the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors on back-to-back nights didn't help its cause.

Still, the Spurs liked where they were following the game.

"I thought we did a lot of the hard things tonight," acting coach Mitch Johnson said. "There's a few times ... we let our guard down, which again, you're not going to be perfect with."

Mitch Johnson says he is pleased that the team stayed in it with BOS, team did get bogged down with the refs, little things.

Overall, he is please with the effort v BOS #nba #porvida #sanantonio

— JeffGSpursKENS5 (@JeffGSpursZone) March 30, 2025

Perhaps one the bigger things that eluded the Spurs was slowing down Jayson Tatum, who made his return after an ankle sprain forced him into a one-game absence. The Celtics star finished the night with 29 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in what ended up being a double-digit victory for Boston.

He also had words for Chris Paul, who logged 12 points, five rebounds and five assists.

"My dawg," Tatum wrote on Instagram.

Jayson Tatum showed respect to his friend and future Hall of Famer Chris Paul after the Celtics’ win in San Antonio 🌵

(Via @jaytatum0 on IG) pic.twitter.com/Z9Nm1fqXCQ

— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) March 30, 2025

After the game, Paul spoke on his own performance against Tatum's Celtics.

“(I'm) just trying to to figure out when I can pick my spots for our team," he said, "as well as pay attention to the game.”

That didn't work in his favor on Saturday, but with a matchup against Golden State on the horizon, he had little time to dwell on that.

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