Jayson Tatum proved to be the hero in the Boston Celtics’ cardiac season-opening win over the Milkwaukee Bucks, 122-121, on Wednesday, December 23 (Thursday, December 24, Manila time).
Tatum hit a crucial triple over two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo with 1.5 seconds left in the game to cap off the Celtics’ final frame comeback.
“Ever since I was a kid I wanted to be in that position,” Tatum said of stepping up despite a relatively poor shooting night.
Greek star Antetokounmpo had a chance to knot the score after drawing a foul off Tristan Thompson, but missed his game-tying free throw that sealed the victory for Boston.
Tatum ended the game with 30 points to go with 7 rebounds and 2 assists, while Jaylen Brown led the Celtics’ offense with 33 points.
“I don’t know what my field goal percentage was, but I know I played terrible,” said Tatum. “But it’s a team game. Everybody contributed. It’s the first one of the season, so it felt good to get a win.
Antetokounmpo dropped a double-double of 35 points and 13 boards to lead the back-to-back No. 1 NBA team in its season opener.
Khris Middleton added 27 points and 14 rebounds for the Bucks, who finished the 2019-20 regular season with the best record in the NBA but fell to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
The second day of the NBA season was marred by the postponement of the game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets due to multiple COVID-19 concerns, that left the latter without the required 8 players available.
Rockets superstar James Harden was fined $50,000 for violating protocols aimed at preventing the spread of coronavirus, which left him ineligible for the game. Three Rockets players had returned positive or inconclusive coronavirus tests.
Four other Rockets are in isolation in accordance with the league’s contact tracing protocols. – with reports from Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com
There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.