“Never seen anybody guard Kevin Durant straight up and block his shot!”: Jayson Tatum held the Slim Reaper to just 4 points on 38 possessions in Game 1 of 2022 NBA Playoffs

One of the key takeaways from Game 1 between the Celtics and Nets was Jayson Tatum’s great defense on Kevin Durant

Game 1 of the first-round playoff series between the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets turned out to be one of the best games seen in playoff history.

It had everything, be it the intensity, the physicality, great offensive and defensive prowess from both teams, and a wild buzzer-beating finish to close the game.

The star matchup between Kevin Durant and Jayson Tatum was what everyone was waiting for and it did not disappoint. The two started the game guarding each other much to the delight of NBA legend Jamal Crawford.

Tatum and KD matching up from the start. Love to see it!!

— 🏁 Jamal Crawford (@JCrossover) April 17, 2022

Also Read: “Kevin Durant got PUNKED yesterday!”: Kendrick Perkins compliments Jayson Tatum and Celtics’ defense for locking down the Slim Reaper in Game 1

Tatum put the clamps on Durant and made life difficult for him on the offensive end

Let’s face it, there are not a lot of players in the world that can guard ‘The Slim Reaper’. Durant makes scoring look ridiculously easy often leaving his defenders embarrassed.

Simply put, Durant is arguably the greatest scorer in NBA history. In Game 1 though, Durant struggled, making just 9 of his 24 shots and committing 6 turnovers.

Jayson Tatum is a generational scorer and it makes people forget he’s is elite in two categories you don’t find often in superstars:

✅ Defense: 1 STL, 2 BLK & held Kevin Durant to 2-6 with 4 TO.

✅ Durability: ≈ 4 games missed per season due to injurypic.twitter.com/qKyVk6jjIU

— Ahaan Rungta (@AhaanRungta) April 18, 2022

In order to limit what Durant can do with the basketball in his hands-on offense, someone needed to step up and take up the tough task of guarding him.

The Boston Celtics’ 24-year-old superstar Jayson Tatum put his hand up and accepted the challenge from the get-go and boy did it pay off. He held Durant to just 4 points on 2/6 FG and made him commit 4 turnovers on the 38 possessions that he guarded him.

Not only that, he also dropped 31 points and scored the game-winning layup to put the Celtics up 1-0 in the series.

Jayson Tatum and the Celtics punked Kevin Durant in Game 1! Carry the hell on… pic.twitter.com/WCKpc885Pc

— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) April 18, 2022

While it was Tatum who got the last laugh in this game, it will be interesting to see how Durant responds in Game 2.

Also Read: “Come on Kevin Durant! Shake it off, do what you do! Take this game over!”: Skip Bayless tries to hype up the Nets’ star after his slow start vs Celtics in Game 1