Jayson Tatum Passes Paul Pierce on the List of Most 30-point Playoff Games By a Celtics Player

Akash Murty | 28/04/2023
Jayson Tatum Passes Paul Pierce in the List of Most 30-point Playoff Games By a Celtics Player

Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics had a tough time beating the 8th-seeded Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the Eastern Conference. Although it looked like the series will go to Game 7 until the 4th quarter as Trae Young was exchanging buckets with last year’s Larry Bird award winner, the Cs settled it in 6 games.

And while it took a game-high 32-point performance by Jaylen Brown to get the 128-120 win, Tatum’s 30 points, 14 rebounds, and 7 assists to go along with 2 blocks and a steal were as important.

This 30-point performance was his second one in this series and 17th overall in 80 games for the Celtics in the post-season. With it, he passed over a Boston legend in that category.

Jayson Tatum passes Paul Pierce for most 30-point games in the Playoffs

Obviously, the list is topped by none other than, Larry Bird, who had 43 thirty-point games in 164 career playoff games. Paul Pierce was 4th on this list with 16 such games in 136 games.

JT has taken that spot from the 2008 Finals MVP, keeping up with his run of wreaking records while leading the team deep into the playoffs.

But he would want to go deeper than last year, which would be, winning a championship game. And now the Sixers stand in their way to getting one step closer to the 2023 Championship.

How do the Celtics match up with Sixers?

Their strategy to just stop Young in the final two-quarters of Game 6, while letting every other Hawks player have their way worked against the Atlanta team, still, it was a closer series than the 4-2 result would tell us.

That strategy of stopping just Joel Embiid or James Harden, or both, and letting other Sixers players try their luck, might not work for even one game.

Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris have shown in their series against the Nets, who were no joke on the defensive side of the ball, what they can do on a consistent basis when Embiid and Harden are not doing well.

Let’s hope Joe Mazzulla and his boys sort it out by the 1st of May.

 

Post Edited By: Akash Murty
Jayson Tatum

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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