PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jayson Tatum let his final 3-pointer fly — a dagger, in NBA parlance — and the rip of the net could be heard on the other side of the court.
Tatum pounded his chest in a pure adrenaline rush moment for the big bucket that quieted the crowd, crushed the hopes of a 76ers’ late run, and was a crunch-time reminder that the six-time NBA All-Star is as close to elite as he was before a ruptured right Achilles tendon cost him the bulk of the regular season.
Tatum cautioned after the Celtics beat the 76ers in Game 3 of their first-round series that, no, he’s not 100% back in his recovery.
Not yet, at least.
He could have fooled the Sixers.
With a little help from his longtime partner and fellow NBA champion Jaylen Brown, Tatum scored 25 points and played 42 minutes in the Celtics’ 108-100 win on Friday night for a 2-1 series lead. Tatum made 5 of 9 3-pointers and combined with Brown to score 19 of the Celtics’ 29 points in the fourth quarter.
“It may not seem like it because I’m back playing, but it was a very, very long time for me not to be doing what I love to do,” Tatum said. “I can’t stress it enough, the fact that I just get to put my uniform on and run out there with the team is a win for me.”
Boston had a pretty big W, too, and rebounded from a surprise Game 2 loss at home that injected a dose of confidence into All-Star Tyrese Maxey, rookie standout VJ Edgecombe to rip back home court in the series headed into Sunday’s Game 4 in Philadelphia.
Tatum returned for the final 16 games of the regular season and averaged 21.8 points and shot 41% from the floor. He scored 25 points in Boston’s Game 1 rout and had 19 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists in the Game 2 loss.
Celtics fans — Tatum raised his arm in celebration toward a small pocket of them near the visitor’s tunnel — want Tatum to be Tatum, like, now. Especially if the Celtics are going to win a second NBA title under coach Joe Mazzulla. Mazzulla, Tatum and the Celtics know there’s still a process to follow in this comeback and perfect health won’t be found in the first round of the playoffs.
Tatum was carried off the floor with a ruptured right Achilles tendon in Game 4 of the Celtics’ Eastern Conference semifinals loss to the Knicks last season. Surgery the next day thrust him into a nearly 10-month rehab.
It ended on March 6 with his season debut. Tatum hasn’t said how close he is to 100% but — yeah, it’s close.
“Expectations of what people want me to do is the last thing that has crossed my mind,” Tatum said. “The amount of joy I’ve been able to find, and being out there with my teammates is all I can think about.”
Philadelphia played again without center Joel Embiid for Game 3 as he continues to ease his way back into practice following an appendectomy on April 9.
Maxey scored 31 points and teamed with Paul George and Edgecombe to keep the Sixers afloat in front of a raucous home crowd that included Allen Iverson and Julius Erving.
Fans were already on their feet when the Sixers brought the ball down in the fourth and roared when Maxey let a 28-footer fly and hit it for an 85-84 lead.
Tatum and Brown — who also scored 25 points — are just too experienced, too talented, too cool in the clutch to let a little crowd noise and the pesky Sixers rattle them.
Brown scored eight straight points late in the fourth for a 96-92 lead and moved past Robert Parrish and Bill Russell and into seventh place on Boston’s career playoff scoring list with 2,695 points.
“No moment is too big,” Brown said. “Big-time players make big-time plays.”
That wasn’t lost on Maxey, the first-time Eastern Conference All-Star starter who has gamely tried to carry the Sixers in Embiid’s absence.
“Down the stretch. They don’t get too high or too low,” Maxey said. “They all know what they’re trying to get to. They’ve been together for a while. In our case, you’ve got to fight like hell and push them to the limit.”
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