Duke basketball: Jayson Tatum seals victory for Celtics with stellar defense

Former Duke basketball standout Jayson Tatum showed his winning pedigree by helping the Boston Celtics seal a victory on the defensive side of the ball.

In the first two games of a First Round series in the Eastern Conference Playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers, Jayson Tatum has been nearly perfect for the Boston Celtics.

Tatum combined for 65 points on 22-of-41 shooting from the field and 10-of-17 from 3-point range as Boston took a 2-0 series lead over Philadelphia, but Game Three was different for the first-time All-Star.

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Shots weren’t falling, fouls were adding up, and Tatum looked frustrated as the two teams fought a back-and-forth affair.

However, Tatum began to get his shots to fall late in the second half. But his defense was consistent throughout the game, and the former Blue Devil used his defensive abilities to help the Celtics regain the lead and pull away in the final minutes.

Late in the fourth quarter, Tatum blitzed Joel Embiid to double team him with Enes Kanter, which forced Embiid to throw a crosscourt pass that was intercepted by Marcus Smart and led to a fastbreak 3-point play for Jaylen Brown. And then Jayson Tatum blocked the former Kansas star from behind on the ensuing possession, which resulted in a clear path foul for the Celtics.

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Tatum finished Game Three with 15 points, six rebounds, a career-high four blocks, and one steal on 6-of-19 shooting and just 2-of-9 from 3-point range in addition to picking up four fouls in the 102-94 victory.

Boston ended the game on a 10-0 run and will look to try and carry that momentum into Game Four as the Celtics look for a sweep of their Eastern Conference rival.

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Game Four will tipoff at 1:00pm EST on Sunday, August 23 as Jayson Tatum looks for a bounceback closeout game, which fans can watch on ABC.