Бостон Сэлтикс багийн супер од Жэйсон Тэйтүм плей-оффын эхний шатны нээлтийн тоглолтод Филадельфиа 76ерсийн эсрэг гайхалтай тоглолт үзүүлж, багтаа 123-91 харьцаатай итгэл төгс ялалт авчирлаа. Тэрбээр гэмтлээс эргэн ирснээсээ хойшхи хамгийн шилдэг үзүүлэлтээ үзүүлж, 25 оноо, 11 самбараас бөмбөг авалт, 7 дамжуулалт гүйцэтгэсэн байна.
Тэйтүм тоглолтын эхнээс л давамгайлж, хагас цаг дуусахад хэдийнэ 21 оноо, 8 самбараас бөмбөг авалт, 4 дамжуулалт, 2 бөмбөг таслалт хийсэн байв. Түүний идэвхтэй тоглолт нь багийн бусад тоглогчид болох Ниймияс Куета, Сам Хаузер нарт довтолгооны боломж нээж өгсөн бөгөөд дасгалжуулагч Жо Маззула Тэйтүмийн хамгаалалтын ур чадварыг онцлон сайшаалаа.
Бостон Сэлтикс багийн хамгаалалт энэ үдэш төгс байж, 76-уудын гол довтлогчдыг ердөө 34 оноогоор хязгаарлан, холын зайн шидэлтийг нь маш муу хувьтай гүйцэтгэхэд хүргэсэн нь ялалтын үндэс болов. Багийн нөгөө нэг од Жэйлен Браун 26 оноо авч Тэйтүмд тусалсан ч эхний хагаст тоглолтын ритмээ олох гэж багагүй хугацаа зарцуулсан байна.
Тэйтүм өөрийн бэртлээс эргэн ирэх итгэл найдвараа G League-д бэлтгэл хийж эхэлснээр олж авсан бөгөөд одоо эрүүл мэнддээ бүрэн анхаарч, довтолгоо болон хамгаалалтын аль алинд нь багтаа амин чухал тоглолтыг үзүүлж байгааг багийн удирдлага онцоллоо. Ийнхүү Сэлтикс баг цувралыг 1-0 харьцаатай итгэл төгс тэргүүлж эхэллээ.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
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BOSTON — Jayson Tatum crouched down at midcourt, on top of the Boston Celtics logo, to watch the end of the first quarter. As Derrick White fired a desperation heave, Tatum could not do anything to alter the outcome of the final Celtics possession. For a play so early in the game, it didn’t seem to matter all that much, anyway.
By then, Tatum had controlled enough of the first quarter that White’s shot, which missed its mark, would have been like a match in an inferno. Ahead big already in a game they eventually won 123-91, Tatum and the Celtics opened their first-round series with enough intensity and focus to melt the Philadelphia 76ers.
And Tatum, midway through a 21-point first-half, was well on his way to an emphatic playoff return.
“It’s pretty nuts kind of how far he’s come,” Sam Hauser said, “and how fast he’s gotten back.”
Kevin Garnett once famously reacted to winning a championship by hollering, “Anything is possible.” At this point, Tatum and the Celtics must feel the same way. Based on how often he has brought up the frustration of not feeling like his normal self, he would likely say he’s not 100 percent yet. Still, he was close enough to it to take over the first half of a playoff game Sunday.
“Just shows how determined and committed he was to his rehab and wanting to get back, and the belief he had in us to — the chance we have to hopefully make a deep run,” Hauser said. “So it’s pretty impressive what he’s doing. And he never takes a day for granted.”
Tatum came back strong in his return from a torn Achilles in March. His improvement since has been even more promising. The 76ers couldn’t handle him Sunday as he collected 21 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals before halftime. The Celtics didn’t need much production from him in the second half, but he finished with 25 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. Tatum made 9 of 17 shots while committing just one turnover.
“Thought (his performance) was really good,” coach Joe Mazzulla said. “Rebounding was great. He changed (defensive) matchups six, seven, eight times throughout the game. I thought that was great there.”
Tatum scored for the first time on a short jumper over Andre Drummond with 9:37 left in the first quarter. Two minutes later, after helping force a turnover, Tatum beat the 76ers down the floor for a layup. On the next Celtics possession, he posted up Tyrese Maxey and drained a feathery jumper over the smaller guard. Before the first quarter ended, he scored two more baskets, including one loud dunk.
With about a minute left in the first quarter, Tatum split two 76ers defenders off the bounce, beat a third to the basket, and took off from the dotted line. After hammering the ball through the rim, he looked into the crowd for a second and screamed.
“He just did a good job of getting downhill,” said 76ers coach Nick Nurse. “… And we just were caught in not very good help positions with him, which just can’t happen. I mean, he got to some space, and we can’t let him do that.”
Jayson Tatum scored 21 points in the first half in a game the Celtics controlled from start to finish. (Winslow Townson / Getty Images)
Tatum didn’t just create for himself. He found Neemias Queta twice near the rim and helped Hauser (12 points) get going early.
“Offensively, he just gave the game what it needed,” Mazzulla said. “He was seeing aggressive pick-and-roll coverage. With that, you (need to) be able to make the right play for yourself and others. I thought he did a great job of that.”
Such performances no longer seem out of the ordinary for Tatum — even so soon after his return. He’s savoring them anyway. Less than three months ago, Tatum was wondering whether he should sit out the season because the Celtics were playing so well without him. Among other steps in his rehab, he needed to rediscover his confidence.
“The day that it changed or became a real thought is when I got assigned to the G League and played, we had the scrimmage, and that was really the first time that it was like, ‘Oh, I might come back this year,’ ” Tatum said. “And I think just periodically, just having really good days of rehab, that really boosted my confidence, whether it be how it felt, me hitting certain benchmarks two weeks earlier than I was supposed to, talking to my teammates after those scrimmages and get-ready games, just kind of asking them questions about how I looked. And the confidence that they instilled in me was impactful.”
That self-belief has only grown.
“He built that through just a work ethic,” Mazzulla said. “He built that through just knowing where he was and where he wanted to get to. I kind of go back to where he didn’t distance himself (while being around the team) the whole time. I think we needed him. He needed us. We needed each other. We all need each other.”
Jaylen Brown (26 points) took a while to find his offensive rhythm Sunday. Queta spent much of the game in foul trouble. Derrick White and Payton Pritchard combined to score a relatively quiet 22 points. The Celtics still won each quarter in a dominant start to the playoffs.
The Boston defense limited the talented backcourt of Maxey and V.J. Edgecombe to 34 combined points on 14-for-36 shooting. Overall, the 76ers shot 38.9 percent from the field while missing 19 of 23 3-point attempts.
Brown called it “a great tone-setter.”
“It reflects our focus and our intensity,” he said.
It also reflected Tatum’s ability to meet one challenge after another. He said he is proud of what he has accomplished already.
“There were days where I wasn’t even sure I was going to play this season, let alone get a chance to play today,” Tatum said. “So I’m openly just grateful that I’m in this position.”
The other Celtics sound grateful, too.
“Where he’s at now, I think he’s continuing to get better and better,” Mazzulla said. “I think he’s focused on the stuff that matters most — his health, continuing to get better, and giving the game what it needs on both ends of the floor.”
