Jayson Tatum Has Learned He Doesn’t Need “Luka Magic” to Win

When he’s at his finest, his sharpest, his uncanniest, Luka Doncic defies physics and cause—hitting pictures nobody else would try, threading passes nobody else would see, to teammates who didn’t even know they had been open. “Luka Magic,” they name it. So when Doncic drove laborious into the paint late within the third quarter Sunday, then flipped a looping, no-look go, you simply kind of assumed that one thing particular would occur.

Jayson Tatum had lower off Doncic’s path to the ring. Kristaps Porzingis was converging. So Doncic pirouetted and zinged the ball over his proper shoulder, towards an awaiting P.J. Washington on the alternative aspect of the court docket. However on this evening, in Recreation 2 of the NBA Finals, the magic fizzled on the worst instances. Jaylen Brown leaped to snag the go, then fired forward to a sprinting Jrue Vacation for a simple dunk, short-circuiting the Dallas Mavericks’ comeback within the third quarter.

It was not the defining play of the evening however was possibly essentially the most symbolic, because the Boston Celtics survived their very own sloppy play, repelled each Dallas surge, and secured a 105-98 win for a 2-0 lead within the sequence.

Doncic was principally good—placing up 32 factors, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists—apart from his eight turnovers (the second most he’s logged in a playoff recreation) and the 4 free throws he clanged, all whereas taking part in by means of a chest damage sustained three nights earlier.

“I believe my turnovers and my missed free throws price us the sport,” Doncic stated, sounding as exhausted as he seemed late within the recreation. “So I’ve received to do approach higher in these two classes.”

It was an honorable, even admirable, try to take the blame for the Mavericks’ woes, on an evening when the Celtics gave them each alternative to steal the win. And if Doncic needed to maintain going, he may have pointed to his withering manufacturing within the second half (six factors within the third quarter, 1-for-6 capturing within the fourth). However Dallas has a lot larger points on this sequence than the occasional Doncic misfire.

Begin along with his costar, Kyrie Irving, who may muster solely 16 factors (on 18 pictures) in Recreation 2 and whose personal expensive turnover late within the fourth quarter, with the Mavericks down 10, successfully sealed the loss. Or with the final malaise of the Mavericks offense, which produced 21 assists Sunday however remained largely stagnant. Or with the Dallas protection, which, frankly, simply can’t plug each hole in opposition to a Celtics lineup that may assault from each place and each angle.

When it wasn’t Vacation (26 factors), it was Brown (21 factors), and when it wasn’t Brown, it was Tatum (18 factors) or Derrick White (18 factors). Or it was Payton Pritchard, who hit a 3-point heave from midcourt on the third-quarter buzzer.

“That’s why they’re the no. 1 workforce within the NBA, with the no. 1 file,” Doncic stated. “They’ve a variety of nice gamers. Mainly, anyone can get off. Truthfully, I believe we didn’t do a nasty job defending at the moment. We took away 3s. We contested extra 3s.”

Via two video games of the Finals, each preconceived notion in regards to the sequence has held up: that the Celtics are deeper, extra versatile, and—given their age and expertise—extra poised. And higher than any workforce Dallas has confronted thus far, with extra firepower than the Minnesota Timberwolves, extra depth than the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder, and extra choices than the Los Angeles Clippers.

“They’re higher than all of the groups we’ve performed,” Washington stated. Requested what makes the Celtics higher, he stated, merely, “Every part. Their file says that they’ve been the perfect workforce all yr. They’ve two superstars; they’ve a variety of nice function gamers. And so they play workforce ball.”

Boston, which has buried opponents all season with 3-pointers, endured a horrendous capturing evening in Recreation 2, making simply 10 of 39 pictures from the arc. Tatum was notably unhealthy, making simply six of twenty-two pictures and simply one among seven from 3-point vary. However he by no means stopped attacking or leveraging his dimension and energy benefit. And, along with his jumper failing him, Tatum did his finest Luka impression—driving, drawing crowds, and firing passes to open teammates. Tatum’s 12 assists had been one shy of essentially the most he’s ever had in a playoff recreation.

“Each time I’d take a pair dribbles, there was, like, three individuals proper there,” stated Tatum, who completed one rebound wanting a triple-double. “So we received a bunch of shooters on our workforce and guys that may house the ground. They saved leaving Jrue open. So it wasn’t like I needed to do something spectacular. It was nearly discovering the open man.”

Two years in the past, Tatum and Brown staked the Celtics to a 2-1 Finals lead over the Golden State Warriors—however they had been finally undone by their very own frailties, by cussed isolation play, premature turnovers, and poor decision-making. They discovered methods to lose when it seemed like they need to win. The distinction now is that they’re discovering methods to win when the stats recommend they need to lose.

Moments after Doncic’s looping go received picked off, Tatum discovered himself equally caught, walled off by a double-team of Dereck Vigorous II and Josh Inexperienced simply exterior the paint. There was nowhere to go and no clear shot to take. Tatum paused, pivoted, then bounced a fast go to a reducing Vacation for a simple layup.

Two years in the past, possibly Tatum would have pressured the shot. Or thrown it away. However the Celtics have advanced a bit since 2022.

“It has so much to do with that I’ve been right here earlier than and we didn’t win,” Tatum stated. “We’re so near what we’re making an attempt to perform. Why would I let my ego or my want to attain all of the factors get in the best way of that?”

Correction: A earlier model of this text acknowledged that Jayson Tatum’s 12 assists on Sunday had been a playoff profession excessive. He had 13 in opposition to the Warriors within the 2022 Finals.