Game 6 wasn’t the Celtics’ sharpest showing by any stretch. But, they stepped up and took control of the game in the clutch, defeating the Hawks 128-120 on Thursday to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals behind their two super stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Tatum finished the night with 30 points on 11 of 20 (55%) shooting from the field while also snagging a game-high 14 rebounds and dishing out a team-high seven assists. Tatum’s 30 points marked the 17th 30-point playoff game in his career, passing Paul Pierce for fourth-most in Celtics franchise history.
Although Tatum only shot the ball twice in the fourth quarter, he was a perfect 2-for-2, and his makes came at big moments, both coming within 40 seconds of each other.
Tatum struggled from deep for most of this series, but came up big when he knocked down a 25-foot step-back three, which put Boston on top by six. It was Tatum’s play on Boston’s next offensive possession, though, that would put the icing cake for the Celtics, when he threw down this nasty put back dunk off an Al Horford miss.
Tatum wasn’t the only star on the court for Boston, as Brown continued his phenomenal play in Game 6. Brown finished the night with a game-high 32 points on 13 of 25 (52%) shooting from the field, going 6-for-8 (75%) from deep, while also grabbing five rebounds and dishing out two assists. Game 6 marked Brown’s third straight game with at least 30 points. Across those three games, he shot a very efficient 40-for-70 (57.1%).
As a duo, the Jays combined for 62 points, 19 rebounds and nine assists in Game 6. It marked the 24th time in their careers that they each scored at least points, with the Celtics advancing to 23-1 in such games.
Game 6 provided just another reminder of just how special this duo is, as they advanced to their fifth Eastern Conference Semifinals series together, which is pretty impressive considering they have been playing together for six seasons.