Celtics star Jayson Tatum saw no quit even down by 26 against the 76ers.
The Boston Celtics and Jayson Tatum looked overmatched and ready to get rushed out of Philadelphia Sunday. The 76ers built an astonishing 26-point lead in the second half.
Tatum and the Celtics, however, erased Philly’s lead and turned it into a 118-110 victory inside Wells Fargo Center. It’s now Boston’s largest comeback in the era of Joe Mazzulla. Boston additionally has tied for the largest comeback victory in the league this season.
Tatum opened up about the comeback, per Celtics reporter Noa Dalzell. The Celtics star, however, reminded that his team has overcame large odds before.
“Just knowing that we’ve been here before — we’ve overcame deficits. But it takes a strong group, and I give credit to Sam (Hauser) off the bench, Luke (Kornet) those guys gave us big minutes, made big plays.”
How Celtics and Jayson Tatum erased massive 76ers lead
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Boston got hot behind the arc, sparking its comeback.
The Celtics banked not one, or two, but four consecutive three’s to ignite the rally. Derrick White nailed a 26-foot shot with Tatum on the assist for the first three. White came back with another three — this time a 24-footer. Hauser later came in off the bench to fire his three-point attempt that cut the lead to 19. Tatum then took a step back before firing off his own three — cutting the 76ers lead to 94-78.
Philadelphia nursed a 94-80 lead entering the fourth. Jaylen Brown started the final period scoring by making a 17-foot shot for two points. Hauser then sliced the lead to 11 twice by hitting two more three-point jumpers — one at the 10:26 mark followed by another that went through the net with under 10 minutes to go.
Tatum took the soul out of the 76ers with 6:51 left — stepping back to fling one more three to give Boston the 101-100 lead. Boston went on to outscore Philadelphia 38-16 in the fourth quarter to snatch the victory.
Tatum shot 6 of 8 from the field during the final 15 minutes of play. He led the way with 35 points. Brown tacked on 21 points while White and Kristaps Prozingis added 17 and 18 points, respectively. Hauser scored 12 off the bench. The Celtics improved to 35-15 overall and are now five games behind the Eastern Conference leading Cleveland Cavaliers.
