MILWAUKEE — Jayson Tatum has been garnering comparisons for years to one of the top Celtics scorers in Boston history: Paul Pierce.
On the heels of a legendary Game 6 performance against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night in a must-win Game 6, Paul Pierce paid tribute to Tatum’s performance with a nod to one of the most memorable games of his career.
Pierce’s arguably best playoff performance in a high stakes game came in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 2008. Boston was attempting to take down LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, who were also the defending East champs like the Bucks in 2022. Ultimately, Pierce and James went toe-to-toe in one of the most iconic games of Boston’ 2008 title run. James scored 45 points but Pierce (41 points) made more big plays late in the game to hold the Cavs off for a dramatic Game 7 win to seal Boston’s spot in the East Finals.
Tatum and Giannis Antetokounmpo delivered a similar duel in Game 6 on Friday night. Antetokounmpo erupted for 45 points and nearly erased a double-digit lead by the Celtics for the second straight game. However, Tatum (46 points) ultimately fought back against the late charge, scoring 11 consecutive points during one section of the fourth quarter (15 in the final frame) to put Boston back in command on their way to a 108-95 win.
“I think that was in the back of our mind game, Game 5,” Tatum said of holding off the Bucks rally. “That’s something that we talked about – that we felt like they beat us on winning plays, hustle plays, 50/50 balls, that they were tougher than us in that fourth quarter of Game 5. So that was in the back of my mind. That was in the back of everybody’s mind – that we couldn’t get beat on those kind of plays and that our season was on the line. We knew that and we just had to dig deep, give it everything that we had.”
The stat lines between Tatum and Antetokounmpo will go down in NBA history after this contest as one of the best playoff battles this decade. However, Tatum did not feel like he was engaged in a duel during the pivotal Game 6.
“I think obviously I know when I have it going,” Tatum said. “You feel that rhythm. It’s not necessarily about matching what somebody else is doing; it’s just finding your spots, knowing time and score and the situation of the game, being aggressive, but also making the right play and doing what it takes.”
Jaylen Brown echoed that mentality when speaking about his All-Star teammate after the win.
“All our energy and all our focus is on winning,’ Brown said. “Not trying to win the individual matchup, not trying to outperform whoever is in front of us. As a collective, as a team, whatever it takes to win. JT had that mentality tonight and he came out and got the job done, helped carry us offensively. Game 7 is a new story. We have to come out as a team and find ways to win again.”
Tatum and the Celtics still have work to do after their Game 6 win to get to the same happy ending Pierce found himself in 14 years ago. The All-Star will get that chance to take another step in that path on Sunday afternoon back at the TD Garden.
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