Jayson Tatum drops 50 on Nets in Celtics’ Game 3 win

The Boston Celtics got a win in their playoff series against the heavily favored Brooklyn Nets on Friday night, thanks to a remarkable performance from 23-year-old forward Jayson Tatum.

James Harden (41) and Kevin Durant (39) combined for 80 points for Brooklyn, but Tatum took things to another level with a 50-point effort to lead Boston to a 125-119 victory. Tatum went 16-of-30 from the field, 5-of-11 on threes, and was extremely efficient from the charity stripe by making 13-of-15 free throws. He also had seven assists, six rebounds, two steals, and one block.

Tatum delivered the dagger to reach 50 points with this pull-up jumper over Durant:

JAYSON TATUM.

50 POINTS AND THE DAGGER. pic.twitter.com/MqlhYyAuQr

— ESPN (@espn) May 29, 2021

More tweets on Tatum’s amazing Game 3: ‘

Youngest players with a 50-point playoff game in NBA history:

23y, 21d — Rick Barry
23y, 62d — Michael Jordan
23y, 86d — Jayson Tatum pic.twitter.com/Yde1I6LJxC

— StatMuse (@statmuse) May 29, 2021

Tatum making Celtics history 🔥

He's the first Celtic since Isaiah Thomas to drop 50 in the playoffs. pic.twitter.com/buUToQtPC8

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 29, 2021

Jayson Tatum is now the only player in NBA history to drop 50 points in:

🟢 Regular season
🟢 Play-In Tournament
🟢 Playoffs

A season for the history books. pic.twitter.com/YK6XxoJJIm

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 29, 2021

Jayson Tatum reached four 50-point games in his 338th career game.

Larry Bird had his 4th 50-point game in his 867th game.

According to @EliasSports Tatum is the 1st player in NBA playoff history to score 50 points after scoring single digits the previous game. pic.twitter.com/furzhQDsgL

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 29, 2021

It may take a few more performances like this one from Tatum to have any sort of chance vs the three-headed monster of Durant, Harden, and Kyrie Irving. But the Celtics at least got a victory and have made it a series.