Following Game 6, Tatum stated that he is "one of the best basketball players in the world." However, he did not give off that impression at all during the first three quarters of the game against the 76ers.
In Philadelphia The Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum pounded the ball against the court in the closing seconds of one of the strangest games of his career……
As tens of thousands of 76ers supporters tried to comprehend what had just occurred in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, the sound of those hard dribbles, each one a percussive thud, seemed to fill Wells Fargo Cente.
How did any of it happen? How had the 76ers missed a chance to earn a trip to the conference finals for the first time since 2001? How had the Celtics capitalized on such a straightforward adjustment—starting Robert Williams—to improve their defense? And how did Tatum ultimately save his team's season after spending the majority of the evening attempting errant jump shots?
Tatum said of the fans: "For 43 minutes, I had to listen to them tell me how bad I was. As a result, it was encouraging to see everyone leave the room early.
The Celtics clamped down on the 76ers in a 95-86 victory on Thursday, forcing a Game 7 on Sunday in Boston. A strange series full of strange games will go the distance — because why not?
Both teams are designed to win right now. These are not inexperienced, ambitious franchises. The 76ers, led by Joel Embiid, who just won his first NBA Most Valuable Player Award, are eager to deliver on the long-awaited promise of their team-building strategy known as the Process.
The Celtics, on the other hand, have been using the catchphrase "unfinished business," which alludes to how close they were to winning it all last season before losing to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA finals.
"Tatum claimed to be "one of the best basketball players in the world" following Game 6. But he certainly didn't appear to be it for the first three periods of the game against the 76ers.