Recap: Celtics Rally From 32-Point Deficit, Use Tatum’s 60 Points to Beat Spurs 143-140
AP Photo | Elise Amendola
Jayson Tatum tied Larry Bird’s Celtics franchise record with 60 points as Boston climbed out of a 32 point hole to beat the San Antonio Spurs 143-140 in overtime.
Jaylen Brown had 17 points and rookie Aaron Nesmith set a new career-high with 16 points as Boston scored 80 points in the second half to come back from the biggest deficit in Celtics history.
The Spurs were led by DeMar DeRozan with 30 points. Dejounte Murray and Lonnie Walker IV each scored 24 points, Rudy Gay had 16 points, and Jakob Poeltl had 15 points and 10 rebounds.
San Antonio came out with their motion offense working to perfection in the first quarter, as they shot 71 percent from the floor. They ended the first quarter with a 39-16 lead. Murray had 12 in the quarter, DeRozan eight points, and Poeltl and Mills each had six points. Tatum scored 14 points in the quarter as he was the only Celtic player who scored until Tristan Thompson had a dunk with 44 seconds left.
The Spurs kept the pressure on in the second quarter as they continued to get any shot they wanted. They were getting contributions from everyone who checked into the game (Gay - six, Johnson - six, Walker - eight, Murray - eight) and were up 67-35 after Murray hit a jumper with 3:27 left in the half.
Tatum had 10 in the period while Grant Williams hit two three-pointers on his way to eight points but the Spurs still lead 77-48 at the half. Fans in attendance were not pleased and showed as much by booing the Celtics off the floor as they went into the locker room.
Boston found new life and energy in the third period as Evan Fournier scored eight points and Nesmith scored eight points. Nesmith, along with Smart, made hustle play after hustle play as the Celtics defensive intensity did a complete 180-degree turn. Robert Williams, back in the starting lineup, began to make his presence felt by shoring up the middle which slowed down the drives by the Spurs that led to them getting easy, wide open looks in the first half. Jaylen Brown scored 11 of his points in the quarter as the Celtics used pure grit and determination to cut the 29 point deficit down to 13 at 103-90.
The Celtics continued to attack the Spurs offensively as Nesmith hit a three-pointer and Tatum used a dunk, a four-point play, and two free throws to cut the lead to single digits at 109-100. Thompson hit two free throws, Payton Pritchard made a three-point shot, Nesmith made another layup, Tatum scored on a dunk and a jumper, and when Smart hit another 3 point field goal the game was tied at 116 with 5:36 left in regulation.
Boston got a bucket from Nesmith and another from Tatum to give the Celtics the lead at 127-126 with 38 seconds left in regulation. Tatum then made one of two free throws, but DeRozan made two with 10.8 to tie the game at 128. Tatum then missed at the buzzer which sent the game into overtime.
The extra session was tightly contested with neither team having a lead of more than two until Tatum hit two free throws to give him 58 on the game. Those points put the Celtics up 141-137 with 11.3 seconds left, but the Spurs Patty Mills made a three-pointer to make it a one-point game. Tatum was fouled on the ensuing possession and made both free throws to give him his record-tying 60 points. This put him in the company of the great Larry Bird, who dropped 60 on the Atlanta Hawks in New Orleans on March 12, 1985. Tatum went 20-37 from the floor, 5-7 from beyond the arc, and 15 of 17 from the free-throw line.
Boston’s legendary comeback will go down in the record books, and they now get to carry this momentum into their next game. They will play the Portland Trailblazers this Sunday at TD Garden. That one tips off at 7:30 p.m. (EST) on NBC Sports Boston.
