Jayson Tatum squeezed off a deep 3-pointer while drawing a foul and hitting the floor with 34 seconds left in the second quarter. It was one of three threes hit by the Celtics star in a 2:12 stretch, but even for him this one was a surprise.
Before picking himself up off the floor to hit the free throw and complete the four-point play, Tatum mouthed a big, “wow.”
That describes where the Celtics found themselves following Sunday’s 139-110 win over a lineup of Grizzlies bench players. Coupled with Milwaukee’s star-less loss to Cleveland earlier in the day, the win earned the Celtics the second seed in the Eastern Conference, and the winner of the Brooklyn/Cleveland play-in game.
For a team that was a game under .500 (23-24) following a loss to Portland on Jan. 21, the difference couldn’t be more striking.
Tatum sat after three quarters of efficient work, with 31 points on 11-for-14 shooting, including 6-for-8 from downtown, nine rebounds, and a resounding plus-29. Jaylen Brown had 18 points on 8-for-16 shooting.
Tatum buried three treys, including a four-point play, as the bulk of a quarter-closing 17-2 run for a 72-49 halftime lead. Tatum had 26 points on 9-for-11 shooting, including 5-for-6 from downtown.
By the time Tatum hit his sixth 3-pointer of the night with 7:11 left in the third, the Celtics had boosted their edge to 25 points (85-60). Memphis briefly rallied, and the Celtics carried a 104-79 lead into the fourth. Ime Udoka put his reserves on the floor at that point.
Tatum came out firing against the lesser coverage and had 14 points by the end of the first quarter and the Celtics, also with the aid of a 9-3 run, took a quarter-ending 32-25 lead.
Some early Celtic sloppiness allowed the Grizzlies to stay close over the first half of the second quarter, though the Celtics pushed their lead to 12 points (44-32) with 7:05 left in the half on a Horford 3-pointer.
Tatum then exploded in the last 2:12, burying three 3-pointers, including an impossible four-point play, over that stretch – his 10 points the bulk of a 17-2 Celtics run that was good for a 72-49 halftime lead.
