Jayson Tatum reveals frustration amid refs overturning foul call to choke 22-point lead
Jayson Tatum blasted out of the gate sizzling hot on Tuesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Boston Celtics forward dropped 13 points in just 12 minutes. He had the NBA-leading Celtics rolling through the first three quarters in the said game.
After Jaylen Brown’s superb third quarter, Boston took an 87-71 advantage with the final period still to be played. It looked like the Celtics were cruising to another blowout win when they padded their cushion to 93-71 with 9:04 minutes left in the game.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, however, refused to quit and ripped a 38-11 run to stun the Celtics. Jayson Tatum had one last chance to win it for the Celtics with a shot late in the game. Darius Garland was called for a foul when he attempted to block Tatum’s shot. Cleveland’s successful challenge forced a jump ball and preserved its 105-104 edge.
After the game, the five-time All-Star had this to say about the possession that could have given Boston a dramatic victory:
“Probably should have went a little faster, just in case some shit like that happened, maybe we have more time or another opportunity.”
When Dean Wade slammed the ball into the rim following a Darius Garland miss, the Cleveland Cavaliers completed their 22-point comeback. The dunk gave the home team a 105-104 lead, but the Celtics still had 19.1 seconds to break Cleveland’s heart.
Unsurprisingly, it was Jayson Tatum who handled the ball. He methodically milked the clock down before attempting a shot. He took the shot with 1.6 seconds left while the foul was called with .7 remaining in the game. The overturned call forced a jump ball, which made it almost impossible for the Celtics to get off a shot.
Boston won the tip and promptly called a timeout. They didn’t have enough time to do that and allowed the Cavaliers to pull the rug under the Celtics.
Jayson Tatum and the Celtics have no one but themselves to blame for the loss
Jayson Tatum’s undergoal stab gave the Boston Celtics a 93-71 lead. It went all downhill from there. Dean Wade got hot, but the Celtics aided him by playing lackluster defense. They blew several defensive plays and sometimes lollygagged back to stop the Cavaliers’ desperate fastbreak attempts.
When Wade hit three straight 3-pointers, Boston’s defense continued to sag off him. It was a stunning collapse for a team that just annihilated the Golden State Warriors two nights ago. In the win against the Dubs, the Celtics executed with precision and played with a sense of urgency even when they were up by over 40 points.
Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics are favored to reign in the East. If they are to accomplish that, it will do them good to learn from tonight’s debacle.