Emerging from Boston’s final timeout Saturday night all tied up with the host 76ers, Jayson Tatum turned toward Grant Williams and made a declaration.
“It’s game time,” JT told his teammate as he stepped back between the lines at Wells Fargo Center. “We’re going home.”
And so he sent the Celtics home – with a game-winning dagger.
As the Celtics set up for a side-out pass with 5.9 seconds remaining, Tatum positioned himself in Boston’s backcourt, so far back that he was almost off the television screen.
As soon as Derrick White inbounded the ball to Marcus Smart, Tatum started sprinting toward Boston's basket. Smart turned and delivered a bounce pass to Tatum at the center-court logo and, without breaking stride, Tatum took one dribble forward to the top of the 3-point arc, one dribble back, rose up, and drilled the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left on the clock.
Joel Embiid attempted to respond with a three-quarter-court heave that miraculously found its way through the net. However, the ball came off his fingertips two-tenths of a second late, allowing Boston to sneak by with a 110-107 win.
Tatum met Williams at the sideline with a victorious chest bump before stepping back with a wide-armed shrug and exclaiming, “What’d I tell you?”
Even after having an off-shooting night, making just 6-of-16 from the field up to that point, Tatum had no doubt in his mind that he could deliver for his team.
It takes a special type of confidence to come through in such a situation, but that’s just another day at the office for the most clutch player in the NBA over the last six seasons.
Since entering the league in 2017-18, Tatum has made a league-leading 11 game-tying or go-ahead shots (in the regular season and playoffs combined) inside the final five seconds of the fourth quarter and overtime.
Even more impressive is how efficient Tatum has been in the clutch. He is currently the only player in NBA history to shoot at least 50 percent on game-tying or go-ahead shots with less than 24 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter among players with at least 25 such attempts. After his latest game-winner, he’s 13-of-26 on such shots – 15-of-29 including the playoffs.
“I never get nervous,” Tatum said of when he’s in those crunch-time situations. “I dreamed about taking those shots.”
And it’s a dream come true whenever he makes one.
Rob Williams Sets C’s Record for Shooting Perfection
Jayson Tatum wasn’t the only one setting efficiency records Saturday night. Rob Williams penned his name atop an all-time Celtics field-goal percentage list, as well.
Williams shot a perfect 7-for-7 from the field against Philly, marking the 50th time in his career that he shot 100 percent from the field in a game, which is a new franchise record.
Kendrick Perkins previously held Boston’s record for most games shooting 100 percent with 49 such efforts. A big difference, however, is that Big Perk played in 335 career games for the C’s, while Williams has played in just 199. In other words, Williams has shot perfectly in more than a quarter of his career games.
Williams also finds himself holding onto a couple of significant efficiency records leaguewide. He’s shot at least 50 percent from the field in an NBA record 72 consecutive games, dating all the way back to November 22, 2021. He’s also currently the league’s all-time leader in field-goal percentage with a clip of 73.1 percent.
For those who think Williams limits his shooting to around the rim, that’s no longer the case. He’s been gradually increasing his range this season, and even knocked down a KG-esque 15-foot jumper to beat the first-quarter buzzer Saturday night.