Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics got the 2022 NBA Playoffs started in dominant fashion, racing out to a sweep over one of the odds on championship favorites, the Brooklyn Nets.
JT was at his MVP best during the series. The Bradley Beal Elite alum averaged 29.5 points and 7.3 assists per game, both ranking Top 5 in the league in the first round.
Game 1 was a tightly contested battle that came down to the final seconds, and Boston put the ball in Jayson’s hands, allowing him to deliver a Game 1 victory at home inside TD Garden.
After shooting 50 percent from the field for 31 points in Game 1, JT’s shot wasn’t falling as successfully in Game 2, so he adjusted and became Boston’s primary facilitator, dishing out 10 assists for a double-double in the 114-107 win.
Game 3 sent the Celtics on the road to Brooklyn, and Jayson got back in his bag, scoring at will to tally 39 points in the 109-103 victory.
Additionally, with a whopping six steals, six assists and five rebound, the BBE alum became the first player in Boston’s illustrious franchise history to have at least 35 points, five assists, five rebounds and five steals in a postseason game.
Then in Game 4, JT keyed the Celtics to close out the sweep, knocking down 9-of-16 from the field for a team-high 29 points for a 116-112 victory.
“That was big,” Jayson said of the sweep. “I know so many people thought that we should’ve tried to play somebody else in the first round. Our mindset was, to accomplish what we want to accomplish, we were probably going to have to play them eventually. So we took on that challenge, we knew it was going to be tough, and I think that was good for us…I’m assuming the road to the championship is never easy. You’ve got to play against the best.”
The Celtics will do just that in the next round when they take on the defending NBA Champion Milwaukee Bucks. Game 1 of what should be an incredible series is slated for Sunday, May 1 at 1p.m. ET inside TD Garden.
