TD Garden was rocking Wednesday night for Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors.
Not just during the game. But also at halftime, when Nelly performed live on the parquet, adding to the host of celebrities in the building for Boston’s 116-100 win.
Jayson Tatum was asked after the game about the Boston crowd, which included Celtics legend Paul Pierce, and whether it’s possible to soak up the atmosphere in the moment. The Celtics star offered a funny response, poking fun at The Truth while shouting out his buddy from St. Louis.
“Paul Pierce? We had Nelly,” Tatum joked, drawing laughter from the media. “We had Nelly in the building. St. Louis was in the house.
“It’s tough, right? Because there’s so much media attention, the routines are different, we’re practicing at the Garden and things like that. So, in those moments, it’s like, this is a lot, this is the Finals, it’s big. But at the same time, you want to keep the same focus of we’ve got a game on Friday, we’ve got to lock in and things like that.
“When you walk in the Garden and it’s already filled while you’re warming up, you definitely notice a different energy. But you can’t get too caught up in that. It’s still basketball. It’s still a game. We’re just trying to win one at a time.”
Tatum grew up in St. Louis, where Nelly began his successful music career. Although there’s an age gap — Tatum is 24 and Nelly is 47 — and Tatum surely was too young to fully appreciate Nelly’s rise to stardom in the early 2000s, the two developed a connection that exists to this day.
Nelly, naturally, rocked a Tatum jersey while performing Wednesday night
“Yeah, that was big. That’s my guy. I’ve known Nelly forever,” Tatum said. “Him and my mom went to high school. He’s known my dad. St. Louis is as big as this room, so we all know each other. Nelly is arguably like the most famous guy from St. Louis — until I can catch up.”
Tatum certainly can enhance his own fame by leading the Celtics to an NBA title, a goal that’s now two wins away as Boston prepares to host Golden State in Game 4 on Friday night.
