Game 3 of Saturday night’s Eastern Conference Finals included 36 points from Jayson Tatum, but his behind-the-back assist to Al Horford with 1:11 remaining in regulation was the most memorable of all of his incredible plays.
With under a minute to go in the game, the Boston Celtics were down five points. With a screen from Horford on the left wing, Derrick White found Tatum, and the two of them rushed into the paint, focused on scoring.
Tatum drove deep into the paint with two hard right-handed dribbles while Aaron Nesmith was on his left hip. Myles Turner and Pascal Siakam aggressively and together collapsed beneath the hoop to block any layup attempt by Tatum as he reached the restricted area and prepared to climb towards the rim.
Even though the Indiana Pacers’ defense was flawless in that moment, elite offense can still win games.
In the face of three defenders encircling him, Tatum opted not to take a shot and instead threw a behind-the-back bounce pass to Horford in the left corner. Horford converted the layup, bringing the Pacers’ lead down to two points.
The Celtics’ Jayson Tatum is demonstrating his versatility as a playmaker.The Pacers, whо had a lead оf eighteen pоints earlier in the game, were deflated by the mоst оffensive play the Celtics had in the third quarter—Tatum’s exquisite assist tо Hоrfоrd.
Jaylen Brown, an All-Star player on the squad, exclaimed with awe and appreciation when asked about Tatum’s pass to Horford in a postgame interview, saying, “hang it in the f***ing Louvre.”
An emblematic microcosm of Tatum’s developing, all-around game is his legendary assist to Horford. Tatum, who was once known mostly for his scoring and volume shooting, has developed into a much better passer and player in recent seasons. This season, Tatum set a new career best with 4.9 assists per game, surpassing his previous mark of 4.6 set the previous season.
It’s no fluke that Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla had Tatum finish in the top two in assists every season. Regardless of the circumstance, Mazzulla has insisted on the significance of ball movement and making the correct basketball read since assuming control of the Bruins in 2022.
Since every member оf the Bоstоn rоtatiоn pоssesses adequate three-pоint shооting and decisiоn-making abilities, Celtics general manager Brad Stevens has put tоgether a cоre оf players that can take advantage оf Mazzulla’s cооperative оffensive style.аll оf Bоstоn’s stаrs, Tаtum included, hаve experienced а decline in their shооting аttempts under Mаzzullа’s scheme, which аims fоr а mоre dynаmic аttаck, but it cоmes аt the cоst оf plаyers.
This doesn’t appear to have fazed anyone in the Celtics locker room, which is surprising given that the team is 75-20 on the year and just one victory away from making its second straight trip to the NBA Finals.
Their dedication to team-first basketball has been a major factor in the Celtics’ rise to prominence as a top NBA squad. Celtics fans will remember Tatum, the team’s best scorer, for his selfless efforts, which culminated in a clutch assist that will be talked about for days.