Jayson Tatum scored 12 points, yet the Celtics hold the early 1-0 advantage in the NBA Finals after a 120-108 win Thursday night. He went 3-for-17 from the floor. After knocking down his second field goal of the night, it took 20 minutes for him to make his third shot. Didn’t matter.
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Of course, he did log a career-high 13 assists, so it’s not like Tatum was ineffective. But for this team to survive a night where he did not have his shot and Steph Curry did (34 points), well that’s not something anyone would’ve predicted coming into the NBA Finals.
Nor would anyone have expected Derrick White to have multiple 20-point performances in this postseason. But that’s what this team has been all about when things are clicking. Defense may be this team’s identity and both Tatum and Jaylen Brown (24 points) can fill it up on any night, but the Celtics’ depth is their greatest strength.
This is a huge steal for a team that gave away a couple games in the Eastern Conference Finals.
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