Tuesday night, the Boston Celtics dropped a hard-fought bout against the Philadelphia 76ers thanks to an immaculate showing by MVP frontrunner Joel Embiid.
The contest came down to the bitter end of regulation, where the shamrocks, despite being down with mere seconds to go, remained focused on trying to pull out win number 55. Though they wound up falling short, the club’s late-game will and efforts were certainly noticed.
Following the game, Jayson Tatum specifically praised the likes of Marcus Smart and Derrick White for their performance, particularly late in the final period, to help keep the Celtics in striking distance.
“We gave ourselves a chance,” Tatum said regarding the final minutes of their latest game against Philadelphia. “Kept fighting. [Marcus] Smart got the and-one. Made a smart play, got the rebound. [He] threw it to [Derrick White], he got fouled or didn’t get fouled I guess. We just kept making plays toward the end so I was happy about that.”
“We gave ourselves a chance.”
Jayson Tatum talks effort from Marcus Smart and Derrick in final minute of Celtics vs. Sixers
While the likes of Marcus Smart and Derrick White were certainly impressive during Boston’s matchup against the Sixers, as the two put up a combined 43 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 blocks, and a steal, surprisingly, Jayson Tatum seemingly did not live up to his end of the bargain when it comes to being viewed as the club’s trusty go-to star.
The franchise cornerstone had himself somewhat of an off night from an efficiency standpoint, as he went on to post 19 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals while shooting a lackluster 35.0% from the floor and 25.0% from behind the arc.
Joel Embiid Issues Statement Following Win Over Celtics
Though the Philadephia 76ers have lost the regular season series to the Boston Celtics 3-1, Joel Embiid believes that this lone win proves that they have a shot at taking them down during the playoffs should they square off.
During his post-game media session, when asked how much it “mattered” for Philadelphia to have bested Boston, the superstar big noted that it was a real confidence booster for the team.
“We’ve struggled this year against them, obviously being down 0-3, so tonight was much needed,” Embiid said. “A win is a win. Especially going into the playoffs and if they end up the number two seed, we might see them in the second round if we make it there. You got to be ready for every scenario…I think if we can correct a lot of the mistakes that we made we got a pretty good chance.”
JOEL EMBIID 50 PIECE 🗣️
52 PTS
13 REB
6 AST
80% FG
W
Embiid went on to drop 52 of his team’s 103 total points while adding on 13 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 blocks.
Jaylen Brown Opens Up on Celtics Co-Star Jayson Tatum
While many seem to believe that Boston Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown could be inching toward a breakup, the latter recently seemed to quell any such fears that this could wind up happening at some time soon.
In a sit-down with The Athletic’s Shams Charania released on April 4, the two-time All-Star spoke out about his relationship with Tatum and suggested that the notion the two of them will wind up splitting up is mere speculation.
“I get why people always try to break up duos…because so far [Jayson and I] have been incredibly successful and hopefully we can be even more,” Jaylen Brown said. “Only thing that will put the ribbon on top is getting a championship.”
Celtics star Jaylen Brown sits down with @Stadium: “I get why people try to break up duos because so far, (Jayson and I) have been incredibly successful. At this point, we’re part of each other’s destiny.” On rookie year lessons, headlocks with Marcus Smart, sacrifice, much more.
When asked by Charania point blank if he gets “genuine happiness” when his Celtics co-star is playing well, Jaylen Brown responded by saying “absolutely” and continued by reciting the phrase “want for your brother what you want for yourself.”
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Jayson Tatum Name-Drops Marcus Smart, Derrick White After Celtics Lose to 76ers