Recap: Jayson Tatum Drops 50 as Celtics Stomp Wizards in Play-In, 118-100
Bob DeChiara | USA TODAY Sports
The Celtics took on the Washington Wizards in the first-ever NBA play-in tournament Tuesday night. A massive third-quarter push led the C’s to a 118-100 victory over Washington.
Boston received major contributions from their All-Star caliber players - Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker. Tatum led all scorers with a whopping 50 points. He also added eight boards and four assists to that total. His monster performance was the Celtics’ main source of offense, as he played a game-high 40:37. Tatum shot 14-32 from the field and 5-12 from deep.
Walker dropped 29 points - second-most in the game and the only other Celtic to crack 15+ points. He picked up a technical foul late in the fourth that energized the team moving forward. He grabbed seven boards and dished out two dimes as well.
Tristan Thompson provided a huge spark as he dominated the offensive glass. He finished the game with a double-double - 12 points and 12 rebounds. Six of his boards were on the offensive end. He and Walker acted as Boston’s main sources of energy in this one.
For Washington, poor three-point shooting led to their downfall. They shot 3-21 from three as a team, good for 14.3% on the night. The Wizards also found themselves in major foul trouble, committing 31 fouls on the night to Boston’s 17.
Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook combined for only 42 points. They shot 16-43 from the field and 1-10 from three as a duo. Westbrook dominated the glass (14 REB) but looked off all night when shooting the ball. Ish Smith acted as their most efficient scorer, dropping 17 on 6-8 shooting.
The Celtics played with more energy in this game than in most of their recent games. Outside of the final game of the season where only reserves played, this marked the first time the C’s held a team to 100 points or less since April 22.
With the win, the C’s clinch the seven-seed in the Eastern Conference. They take on the Brooklyn Nets in round one of the NBA playoffs. Game one tips off this Saturday, May 22.
