He spent most of his time on the floor practicing the abilities he would soon need as the arena steadily filled up for a game between the Celtics and the Knicks. He tried his dribble, practiced post moves, and splashed in some jumpers.
However, he briefly engaged in a light basketball back-and-forth with a Celtics staff member on the floor of Madison Square Garden. This exchange lasted perhaps a minute.
The fact that he states it and then supports it with his professionalism, work ethic, teamwork, and coachability makes me think it’s crucial for him to have that mindset, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla stated prior to Saturday’s game.
Tatum’s teammates seemed to share his confidence and swagger, even though he has had better games than his 19 points on Saturday, when the Celtics defeated the Knicks for the fourth time this season.
That appeared to be Tatum’s trusting his teammates on his incredibly deep team on Saturday as he played more of an unnoticed role.
I thought that Jayson’s basketball performance tonight was beautiful,” Mazzulla remarked. It won’t be placed in the most valuable category and will be ignored.
With 30 points, Jaylen Brown led the Celtics in scoring while Jayson Tatum (19 points, 7-of-15 shooting) stepped back to allow his teammates shine. With five of their starting players scoring in double digits and Al Horford coming off the bench, Boston outscored the injured Knicks by shooting an incredible 58% from the field and 43% from three. Josh Hart, 16, was the only other Knicks player to score in double figures during the game. Despite a fantastic effort by star guard Jalen Brunson, who finished with 34 points and nine assists, the game was still close. They simply lacked the firepower to stay competitive.
For the most part of the second quarter, there was no movement between the two teams. After playing the whole first quarter, Brunson’s production decreased, but the Knicks were able to keep up thanks to a solid showing from their revamped bench. But Brown kept adding points at a ridiculously fast pace. He increased his scoring to a game-high 20 points (9-of-11 shooting), and the two teams combined for 32 points to keep the halftime deficit at four points, 62-58.
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