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Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics ended February on the right end of a one-point nail-biting victory against the Washington Wizards at TD Garden, Sunday night.
Tatum spun around All-Star Bradley Beal and converted a contested layup against Wizards forward Rui Hachimura that pushed the Celtics ahead (111-110) with only 4.7 seconds left to play. Beal, who dominated with a game-high 46 points, nearly drained a game-winner over Tatum but the ball spun off the rim as the game clock expired.
In the end, Tatum’s 31 points led Boston, and his game-winning layup made the difference in the Celtics’ 111-110 win against Washington. However, his first memorable play of the evening came in the first half and it happened over Wizards center Robin Lopez.
Celtics’ Jayson Tatum Posterizes Wizards’ Robin Lopez
Five minutes into the second quarter, Tatum, at the top of the key, drove past Hachimura before Lopez — Jayson’s only man left to beat — stepped up to contest and found himself on the receiving end of Tatum’s fury as he dunked over Lopez from the right side of the rim.
This will be included in the highlight reel of Tatum’s career that we’ll be seeing for years. Reminiscent of a young Paul Pierce, it’s always fun for Celtics fans to watch its young star player demoralize an opposing big man.
Is Tatum’s Dunk Over Lopez The 2020-21 Dunk Of The Year?
Although Tatum’s slam over Lopez pales in comparison to his infamous rookie slam over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 7 of the 2018 Eastern Conference finals, this could be second to Minnesota Timberwolves rookie Anthony Edwards.
For what Edwards did to Toronto Raptors forward Yuta Watanabe there’s a good chance it will never be topped, this season. The first overall pick of the 2020 NBA Draft dunked on Watanabe so badly that it took Watanabe three consecutive healthy-DNPs to recover.
The Raptors’ matchup against the Houston Rockets last Friday was the first game Watanabe’s played since the incident.
Tatum Named NBA All-Star Starter, Considering Participating In Skills Competition & 3-Point Contest
Tatum was also named a starter in this year’s 2021 NBA All-Star Game after Brooklyn Nets All-Star Kevin Durant announced he will not be participating in Atlanta. Along with the game itself, the NBA announced it will be hosting the other annual All-Star weekend festivities on Sunday, March 7; including the Skills Competition, the 3-Point Contest, and Slam Dunk competition.
Tatum, a former Skills Competition champion (2019), revealed prior to Sunday’s game against the Wizards, that he’s considering entering at least one of the three All-Star festivities, on tap.
“I’m trying to decide which one I’ll be a part of,” Tatum said Sunday when he was asked about potentially participating in the 3-Point contest and Skills Challenge. “Definitely not doing both, I think I’m sure I’ll participate in one of them (but) not the dunk contest.”
The 2019 Skill Competition champ fell short in defending his title in 2020, so this could be an opportunity for Tatum to regain the throne.
As for the 3-point shootout, Jayson’s currently shooting 36.8% from behind the arc — a new career-low — but he’s also averaging a career-high in 7.2 attempts, which is three additional 3-pointers a night compared to 2018-2019.
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