Boston Celtics key takeaway No. 3) Tatum capable of being “leader by example”
In the coming days, when discussing game 5, it will likely be hard to escape the tale of two halves.
The first two quarters were unbelievably wonky, as the Boston Celtics looked completely out of synch while Miami, ironically, looked the part of the team down 3-1 and on the verge of extinction.
A lot of this had to do with Jayson Tatum‘s slow start to the exhibition, as he went into the half with 10 points on an abysmal 33 percent shooting from the floor. A bit too passive and sloppy, it appeared as if the bright lights of a 2020 elimination could very well have been too bright for the first-year All-Star.
Then the second half hit.
Starting off the third with what appeared to be a new level of intensity and drive, Tatum wound up leading all scorers in the quarter, dropping 17 points on 66.7 percent shooting from both the field and long-range.
Behind him followed the Celtics, as his sudden rejuvenation on the hardwood seemingly gave his team that extra oomph needed to strike back and finish quarter number three off with an advantage in the scoring punch (41-25) and a nine-point lead on the scoreboard (92-83).
Tapping back into his All-NBA self in the second half, the 22-year-old stud finished with a game-high 31 points to go along with 10 rebounds and six assists.
Like we constantly are finding ourselves saying, this Boston Celtics team will go as far as Jayson Tatum will allow them.
His second-half excellence paved the way for a much needed Cs comeback and, in turn, has given fans another blessing of hope as we now head into game 6.