PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Jayson Tatum humbly believes he is one of the best basketball players in the NBA and not even a lengthy streak of missed shots in a win-or-else Game 6 could shake his faith.
Sometimes, though, a pep talk in the heat of the moment lifts even the most confident stars. Boston rookie coach Joe Mazzulla pulled the forward aside in a late timeout and didn’t draw a play or tell Tatum to keep shooting and soon the buckets would fall.
His message was more simple.
“I love you,” Mazzulla told Tatum. “That’s a pretty powerful statement.”
Tatum rewarded his coach’s love with decisive three-pointers straight through the heart of a Philadelphia comeback that pushed the Celtics past the 76ers 95-86 yesterday to send the Eastern Conference semifinals back to Boston for Game 7.
“I kept looking at the time,” Tatum said. “I’ve got time, I’ve got time to make a difference. I believed that the whole time.”
Tatum buried one three for the 84-83 lead and a second that made it 87-83 and put the Celtics in firm control in front of a boisterous Philly crowd.
Tatum stuck it to the 76ers with one final three-pointer for a 95-84 lead.
