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Key Moment
The table was set Sunday night for another game-winner by Jayson Tatum. This one just didn’t have the luck of the green on its side.
Boston trailed by one point after Domantas Sabonis plowed his way to the basket for a go-head bucket plus a foul with 8.4 seconds left. He misfired on the free throw to leave the score at 108-107 when the C’s grabbed the rebound and called timeout with 7.7 second left on the clock.
Following the timeout, Tatum caught Boston’s inbound pass at the Pacers logo at midcourt and waited until 3.7 seconds remained on the clock to take his first dribble. He then took two dribbles that led into a crossover-step-back on his defender, Malcolm Brogdon, before he fired up a deep 3-pointer from 28 feet away for the win.
The last time he attempted a potential game-winner during the final seconds of a game, it was on Opening Night against Milwaukee. That one banked off the glass and dropped through the net to eventually give the Celtics 122-121 win.
This time, around, his shot was not destined to fall through the hoop for the win. It clanked long off of the back of the rim and into the air as the final buzzer sounded, sealing Indiana’s one-point victory.
Key Player
Jayson Tatum continued to pile up the stats Sunday night, even though he came up empty on his potential game-winner in Indianapolis.
Tatum logged his first double-double of the season by tying for the game high in scoring with 25 points while also hauling in a game-best 11 rebounds. He also added in five assists and blocked a shot during his nearly 36 minutes of action.
Sunday’s performance marked not only Tatum’s first double-double of the season, but also the first instance in which he led the team in scoring. Jaylen Brown earned that accolade during Boston’s first two games of the season.
If we know anything about Tatum, we know many more double-doubles and many more team-best scoring nights are on their way.
Box Score Nuggets
- Jayson Tatum and Malcolm Brogdon tied for the game high in scoring with 25 points apiece.
- Boston's bench outscored Indiana's 42-31.
- The Celtics committed 18 turnovers in the game, which led to 25 Indiana points.
- Both teams scored 25 points off of turnovers.
- Tatum also led the game with 11 rebounds.
- Each team's largest lead was 11 points.
- Payton Pritchard scored a career-high 13 points on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting night.
- Indiana played only eight players in the game.
- Rob Williams came off of Boston's bench to score 12 points and grab a game-high four steal to go along with two blocked shots.
- Both teams shot better than 50 percent from the field - 51.1 percent by Indiana, and 50.6 percent for Boston.
Quote of the Night
Jaylen Brown