Jayson Tatum scores 50 as Celtics earn 7th seed
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[May 19, 2021]
Jayson Tatum scored 23 of his 50
points in the third quarter and the Boston Celtics punched their
playoff ticket with a 118-100 victory over the Washington Wizards in
an NBA play-in contest on Tuesday night.
Kemba Walker added 29 points as Boston, which had lost five of its
final six regular-season games, claimed the No. 7 seed in the
Eastern Conference bracket. The Celtics will meet the second-seeded
Brooklyn Nets in a first-round matchup, with Game 1 set for Saturday
night.
Washington will have one more chance to make the postseason when it
hosts the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night. The winner of that
contest will land the No. 8 seed and face the top-seeded
Philadelphia 76ers in the first round.
Wizards star Bradley Beal amassed 22 points, nine rebounds and six
assists while dealing with a hamstring injury. Russell Westbrook had
20 points, 14 rebounds and five assists but was just 6-of-18
shooting. Ish Smith recorded 17 points and eight rebounds for
Washington.
Tristan Thompson added 12 points and 12 rebounds for Boston, which
shot 39.6 percent, including 15 of 45 from 3-point range. Walker hit
6 of 14 from long distance and Tatum made 5 of 12.
Daniel Gafford scored 12 points for the Wizards, who made 43.5
percent of their shots but were just 3 of 21 from behind the arc.
Washington, which went 17-6 to finish the regular season, led 56-55
in the opening minute of the third quarter before the Celtics
exploded with 14 straight points as part of a 19-2 burst.
Walker began the spurt with three consecutive 3-pointers and Tatum
followed with a 16-footer and a 3-pointer to give Boston a 69-56
lead with 8:09 left.
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Washington Wizards guard Russell
Westbrook (4) attempts to steal the ball from Boston Celtics forward
Jayson Tatum (0) during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory
Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Gafford scored on a tip-in to
interrupt the run, but Tatum answered with a dunk and a 3-pointer as
the Celtics took a 74-58 advantage with 7:13 remaining in the
quarter.
Tatum knocked down a 22-footer with 28.1 seconds left to cap his
huge quarter and give Boston a 90-80 lead entering the final stanza.
Washington trailed by seven early in the fourth quarter, but Boston
answered with a 15-4 spurt. Tatum capped the run with a 3-pointer to
make it 106-88 with 5:32 left. Just 66 seconds later, Tatum hit two
free throws to reach the 50-point mark and boost the lead to 110-90.
Walker hit back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 116-94 with 2:36 left.
--Field Level Media
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