Luckily, the Boston Celtics were able to avoid a massive meltdown from fans and talking heads everywhere by getting the job done on Wednesday night against the Charlotte Hornets in a 120-111 victory at the TD Garden.
For those with short-term memory loss or an elite selective memory, the Cs had lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder just one day earlier–not just any OKC team but one that had lost its previous 14 games–in a game considered to be the worst of the season for Boston.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were the stars of the game on Wednesday night, combining for 73 points in a true showing of superstar play in a pivotal must-win game. Tatum in particular stuffed the stat sheet with a 35/8/8 stat-line.
After the game, Tatum made a very interesting comment praising one of his teammates. Interestingly enough, Brown was not the player in question.
Instead, Tatum showered praise on backup center Robert Williams, who Tatum called “my favorite person to play with”:
Tatum on getting Timelord back: "Rob’s easily probably my favorite person to play with. Just the energy he brings, his presence, all the little things he does on the floor."
— Mark Murphy (@Murf56) April 29, 2021
Truthfully, it’d make sense for Tatum to feel that about a guy who directly creates open looks and assist opportunities for him, which Williams does by using his massive frame to set screens and dive to the basket.
Still, it’s an interesting comment on the night of being one half of an All-Star duo that just put up 73 points together.
Williams had a stellar performance off the pine, collecting eight points, nine rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 17 minutes of play, but Brown was arguably the best player on the floor, scoring 38 points on 13/23 shooting from the floor and 7/13 shooting from the 3-point line.
While Williams provided invaluable minutes, Brown’s 39 points the night before against OKC with Time Lord, Tatum, and Kemba Walker missing kept the Cs afloat and without his 38 on Wednesday…well let’s not even think about the alternative to last night’s victory over Charlotte.
All of this said, it was nice to see the Boston Celtics get their act together on a night the Knicks and Heat both picked up pivotal victories in the postseason seeding race.