The Bucks-Celtics series has been everything anyone could have possibly hoped for and we will be treated to a Game 7 thanks to the herculean efforts of Jayson Tatum.
After a crushing defeat in Game 5 at home, which saw the Bucks erase a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to win 110-107, the Celtics had to stave off elimination in Milwaukee and they have Tatum to thank for an all-time great performance.
He finished the night with 46 points on 17-32 shooting from the field and 7-15 from 3, as he joined Sam Jones as the only other Celtic ever to have multiple 45-point playoff games. NBA Twitter was full of praise for Tatum and Marcus Smart chimed in post-game.
Marcus Smart on Jayson Tatum: "That's why he gets paid the big bucks… for moments like that" pic.twitter.com/whPWvxvzca
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) May 14, 2022
“That’s why he gets paid the big bucks…. that’s it right there for moments like that. I was telling him the whole game, just be you man and he was. That’s what we lean on him to do.” “He took that game over in the fourth and brought us home.”
That fourth quarter capped off a 28-point second half for Tatum who tore apart a great Milwaukee defense and helped overcome a 44-point 20-rebound game from Giannis Antetokounmpo.
This sets us up with what we hope goes down as one of the great Game 7s in NBA history. Celtics do have home-court advantage, but four of the six games in this series have been won by the road team, including the last two. Boston is going to need another big game from Tatum to pull off the win, as it doesn’t seem like they have an answer for Giannis, as the Greek Freak has scored over 40 in each of the last two games.
Regardless of what happens in that game, both teams can be extremely proud of how well they have played in what has been a bruising physical battle between two of the best that the NBA has to offer.
