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Tim BontempsESPN
BOSTON — After Celtics star Jayson Tatum scored 44 factors to steer his workforce to a 119-114 victory over the Warriors on Saturday, overcoming a spectacular 47-point performance from Stephen Curry within the course of, Tatum stated it was a thrill to go toe-to-toe with the longer term Corridor of Famer and are available out on prime.
“Simply mutual respect,” Tatum stated, when requested in regards to the dialog the 2 had on the court docket inside TD Backyard afterward. “Clearly two huge performances. I used to be glad that we obtained the win, however clearly he is one of many all-time greats.
“Simply to earn his respect and get a win on the identical night time … it was a great night time.”
It was an awesome night time for anybody watching this one, because the Celtics and Warriors slugged it out in one of the entertaining video games of the season. However whereas Curry continued his torrid streak of late, eclipsing 30 factors for a 10th straight recreation, it was Boston that when once more confirmed the type of grit and toughness it lacked so usually earlier this season. The Celtics overcame a 16-point deficit within the first half and got here again to get a dramatic victory that had the ebbs and flows of a playoff recreation, versus one in the course of the common season.
A lot of that was because of the back-and-forth battle between Tatum and Curry — one which Tatum, who completed 16-for-25 general and 5-for-9 from Three-point vary, in the end gained.
“To begin with, I am in awe of what I watched tonight,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr stated. “From a talent stage and stage of competitors, it felt like a playoff recreation on the market. Each groups had been simply gassed and competed like loopy, and simply unbelievable shot-making, notably from Steph and Jayson. So what a basketball recreation. It hurts to lose, however I informed the workforce I really feel like they obtained higher tonight.”
This was the type of recreation that, earlier this season, the Celtics simply would have misplaced. However for Boston, which has gained six in a row and eight of 9 for the reason that calendar flipped to April, a lot of these performances have gotten increasingly more plausible. That is the third time in 4 video games the Celtics have overcome a double-digit deficit — having finished so in Denver on Sunday and Portland on Tuesday — to maintain this streak going.
However whereas there’s clearly a newfound vitality and momentum round this workforce that wasn’t there earlier than, Celtics coach Brad Stevens stated that comes from a reasonably apparent place: The Celtics have lastly been capable of get most of their core rotation on the court docket and enjoying collectively recently — even when they had been with out three of their prime six gamers in Jaylen Brown, Evan Fournier and Robert Williams on Saturday night time.
“I believe the primary cause for our little run right here is we have been, for essentially the most half, more healthy,” Stevens stated. “Now tonight we had been a little bit bit much less, however we simply missed lots of guys earlier within the yr. And I do know that feels like an excuse. I hope it would not. I believe what we tried to do is keep afloat in addition to we may and hope that we get to a time the place we get a little bit bit more healthy and put collectively some weeks of excellent basketball. All through all that, our guys have finished an unbelievable job of staying collectively. And when that occurs, and you then get a little bit momentum, you then tend to reply when you do not really feel nice.”
After all, it additionally helps to have a younger star get sizzling, as Tatum did on this one, whereas Kemba Walker chipped in 26 factors — together with a essential Three-pointer with 24.eight seconds left to assist stave off Curry and the Warriors. After his newest huge efficiency, Tatum is averaging 29.Three factors per recreation in April and has lastly helped the Celtics start to maneuver away from the opportunity of being within the play-in match after a season stuffed with matches and begins that has seen a number of gamers — together with Tatum — contract COVID-19.
Tatum scored 53 factors on this constructing simply eight days in the past to set a profession excessive, however that recreation was towards the Minnesota Timberwolves, one of many league’s worst groups. This one got here on nationwide tv in a back-and-forth duel with an all-time nice in Curry — a recreation that noticed each gamers hit huge pictures down the stretch.
“It is unbelievable,” Celtics guard Marcus Smart stated of Tatum’s improvement. “It is a good feeling to see. It is a good feeling to be part of. Simply to see his improvement and see him proceed to ascend into an awesome participant, it is positively been a pleasure to be part of.”
And alongside the best way, Tatum earned the respect of Curry, who had loads of reward for the younger star after the sport was over.
“I simply informed him he is tremendous powerful, man,” Curry stated. “You possibly can inform the sport has slowed down for him, simply in the best way he picks and chooses his spots and the way he type of manages the sport. He is capturing the ball lots higher from the perimeter, however when that recreation slows down, I do not know if it is 4 or 5 years in, no matter he’s, that is if you turn into deadly.
“Together with your talent set, his measurement, their system options him, so he is a supreme expertise. Supreme expertise.”