Jayson Tatum scored 11 of his 25 points in the fourth period on Friday and, with 2 three-pointers in the final minutes, gave the Boston Celtics a momentous 108-100 win at the Philadelphia 76ers to give his team a 2-1 lead in the first-round series of the NBA playoffs.
Jayson Tatum celebrated in style after hitting an amazing three-pointer with 25.3 seconds left in the fourth period that put the score at 106-100 and left the 76ers ‘KO’d’. He put up a game-high 25 points (9-of-17 shooting), 4 rebounds and 7 assists in 42 minutes on the court. After missing 5 months of the season due to his Achilles tendon injury suffered in the 2025 playoffs, Tatum has returned to his most competitive version.
Tatum’s triple sparks euphoria in Boston
The final triple sparked euphoria from the Boston bench.
Including Madrid rookie Hugo González, who did not play minutes for the second consecutive game in this series.
Gonzalez, 20, has only been on the court for 61 seconds in the first game of the series, in which Joe Mazzulla’s team triumphed 123-91 against the Sixers.
Tatum has returned to his most competitive form
QuéOnnda.com
Tatum dominates under pressure
“I’ve been through this before,” Jayson Tatum said after the Philadelphia game, pleased to stick up for the Boston Celtics in the tough Philadelphia environment.
He also became the fourth player in Celtics history to surpass 3,000 points in the postseason.
And he was supported by a 25-point, 7-rebound Jaylen Brown.
Payton Pritchard also made a decisive contribution down the stretch, scoring 15 points and making 5 three-pointers off the bench.
Allen Iverson cheers on the Sixers
The Celtics needed to give it their all at the Xfinity Mobile Arena, where the Sixers competed with tremendous commitment pushed by their home crowd.
Among the most special fans was the legendary Allen Iverson, sitting courtside.
Philadelphia was down by ten points until early in the third quarter, but never stopped fighting with Tyrese Maxey leading the way.
The No. 0 signed 31 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists, with 5 three-pointers, and went on to give the 76ers an 85-84 lead in the fourth segment.
If VJ Edgecombe, who starred with 30 points and 10 rebounds in Game 2, was 5-of-17 from the field and 0-of-7 from three-point range for 10 points, Andre Drummond contributed 12 points and 6 rebounds off the bench, going 2-of-2 from beyond the arc.
The 76ers were still without Joel Embiid, out with appendicitis, but Drummond stepped up in the paint.
Paul George poured in 18 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 17 for the Sixers, who held on until the final minute before Jayson Tatum tipped the series in favor of the Boston Celtics.
The fourth game will be played again in Philadelphia this Sunday.
With information from EFE
For more information, visit QuéOnnda.com
