AP Photo/John Minchillo
Things are heating up as the Boston Celtics are one win away from knocking the Brooklyn Nets out of the playoffs.
Celtics legend Paul Pierce tweeted after Boston’s 109-103 win in Game 3 on Saturday that Jayson Tatum could overtake Kevin Durant in the NBA hierarchy:
Paul Pierce @paulpierce34
I think Jason Tatum could surpass Kevin Durant in the NBA hierarchy right before our eyes
Tatum had his highest-scoring game of the series on Saturday with 39 points on 13-of-29 shooting. He also had six assists, six steals and five rebounds.
The final possession of the game for the Celtics was when Tatum stole a pass from Durant and slammed the ball to set an exclamation point of victory.
NBA on ESPN @ESPNNBA
Jayson Tatum caps the Celtics win with this steal and slam 😤 pic.twitter.com/NPLGkPNt6J
Despite averaging 29.7 points per game throughout the series, Tatum’s defense against Durant was the story against the Nets. The Celtics star shot just 5 of 16 off the field in Game 2, but he did so when facing Durant:
Chris Forsberg @ChrisForsberg_
Kevin Durant when guarded by Jayson Tatum in Game 2, according to NBA tracking:
10:33 matchup time
4pts
0-7 FG
3 TO
1 BLKThe nets were 2-11 FG overall when defended by Tatum. Influenced the game with defense and playmaking, even when he struggled early.
Durant had just 16 points in Game 3 with nearly as many turnovers (five) as field goals (six). This was his lowest-scoring postseason game since Game 2 of the 2017 Western Conference Finals, except when he exited Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals in the second quarter after rupturing an Achilles tendon.
While Tatum absolutely deserves credit for the work he’s doing on defense this series, Durant’s struggles can also be attributed to how much he’s played since returning from a sprained MCL on March 3.
Nets head coach Steve Nash has allowed Durant to play 38.6 minutes per game in the last 19 games of the regular season. So far, he’s averaged 42.8 minutes in four games between the play-in tournament and the postseason.
Tatum is undoubtedly rising to superstardom. Durant’s longevity makes it hard to say the Celtics forward has overtaken him in the NBA hierarchy, but Tatum puts together a strong case based on how that streak has progressed so far.