addByline("Marc D'Amico", "Celtics.com", "Marc_DAmico");
Throughout this season, Celtics fans were asked at the conclusion of each month to vote on Twitter for their top moment of the month. Their voices (and fingers) have officially been heard.
We’ve taken the top moments from February, March, April and May, as voted by the fans, and combined them with our choice for the December-January games to give you a list of five. Now is the time to relive your favorite moments before the postseason begins Tuesday night. Let’s dive into it:
December-January: Tatum’s Game-Winner against Milwaukee
There were no fans on hand for this one, as the season opened up Dec. 23 at TD Garden inside an empty arena. TD Garden is fortunate, in a way, because if fans were on hand they might’ve blown the roof off.
The Celtics and the Bucks, two teams presumed to be title contenders heading into the season, went back and forth from start to finish in a game that featured 16 lead changes. The 16th and final lead change was unquestionably the most euphoric.
Boston trailed by one coming out of a timeout with 8.9 seconds left and they looked in Jayson Tatum’s direction for the win. Tatum caught an inbound pass and squared up on Giannis Antetokounmpo on the left wing with 6.5 seconds left before using his patented side-stepback to fire off a 3-pointer ahead of the buzzer.
Due to Antetokounmpo’s length, Tatum was forced to put some extra arc on the shot, and by some, we mean a lot. So much so that the ball banked off the top of the top of the inner rectangle of the backboard before falling through the net with 0.4 seconds remaining to secure a dramatic win on Opening Night.
February: Tatum Ties It with a Runner
Winning Vote: 34.5 percent of votes
Almost two months to the day after his game-winner against Milwaukee, Jayson Tatum came through in the clutch yet again Feb. 21 in New Orleans.
Boston had led by as many as 24 points in the game but stared down a two-point deficit coming out of a timeout with 6.9 seconds remaining in regulation. The Celtics needed a bucket to force overtime, and Tatum delivered one.
Yet again, Tatum caught the ball near midcourt and this time was defended by New Orleans wing Josh Hart. The C’s ran the same plan as they did against Milwaukee, but this time, Daniel Theis was the inbounder who ran a slip screen with Tatum.
New Orleans did not switch on the screen, which allowed Tatum to turn the corner and get in front of Hart. Tatum rose up from the left side of the lane and released a high-arcing, right-handed floater over the outstretched arm of Nicolo Melli in front of him, and Hart behind him.
The shot swished through the net with 0.2 seconds remaining to force overtime, and although the C’s did not go on to win, this was unquestionably one of the most impressive shots of the season from a Celtics player.
March: Brown’s 10 3-Pointers
Winning Vote: 46.2 percent of votes
Jaylen Brown was on absolute fire March 21 when he nearly set a new franchise record for 3-point makes in a game.
Brown connected on 10 triples on the night, leaving him just one shy of Marcus Smart’s franchise record of 11 in a single game. Asked after the game if Smart had made him aware that he was chasing his teammate’s record, Brown joked, “If he would have told me that, I would have shot two or three more.”
Brown finished with 34 points on the night to account for one of his 11 games of 30 or more points on the season.
April: Tatum’s 60-Point Explosion
Winning Vote: 92.2 percent of votes
This was the biggest no-brainer of the season. How do you top 60 points? Easy answer: you don’t.
A whopping 92.2 percent of our fans voted Jayson Tatum’s 60-point performance on April 30 against the San Antonio Spurs as the top moment of the month. That point total not only set a new career high for Tatum, but it also tied Larry Bird for the most points ever scored by a Celtics player.
We repeat: that point total tied Larry Bird for the most points ever scored by a Celtics player. While playing for a franchise with arguably the richest history in the game, that’s quite the accomplishment.
Tatum shot 20-for-37 from the field and 5-for-7 from long distance in the game. He became just the 11th player in modern history to tally 60 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the same game.
May: Lob Williams Alley-Opp Dunk
Winning Vote: 33.4 percent of votes
Four singular plays battled it out for the top moment of May and Rob Williams took home the title with his alley-oop slam May 2 against the Portland Trail Blazers.
The play occurred at the 4:45 mark of the first quarter, when Marcus Smart took an outlet pass from Jaylen Brown and locked eyes with Williams as the two passed into the frontcourt. Smart, streaking down the right side of the court, tossed an oop from nearly 40 feet out to Williams, who was streaking down the left side of the court. Williams rose above former teammate Enes Kanter and grabbed the ball with two hands before slamming it through the rim for an emphatic dunk that brought Boston’s bench to its feet.
That slam was one of Williams’ team-leading 93 dunks on the season, and it was one that our fans clearly enjoyed.