BOSTON — Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers has been around the NBA for 40 years and he had a front-row seat at history on Sunday at TD Garden.
Rivers watched helplessly as Celtics star Jayson Tatum went off for an NBA record 51 points in a Game 7 as Boston eliminated Philadelphia from the postseason with a lopsided 112-88 victory.
Rivers has seen his share of memorable performances, but only one other measured up to what Tatum accomplished on that heightened staged.
“I’ve seen one and it was in this building. Unfortunately, it was LeBron (James),” Rivers said. “That’s the only time I’ve seen a performance like that live. I’m glad that I haven’t seen many. But yeah, I’ve seen one. Tatum was not only unbelievable, he played just hard defensively. He didn’t take a lot of bad shots. I thought he got in a rhythm and he played great overall.”
Rivers was referencing the time he was the Celtics head coach and watched Paul Pierce and James duel in the same situation of a Game 7 of the 2008 Eastern Conference semifinals. James poured in a game-high 45 points on 48.3% (14-for-29) shooting but Rivers survived that encounter. He didn’t have the same fortune this time around with Tatum hurling a stake into the heart of the 76ers.
Tatum netted 25 points in the first half but then took over in the third quarter. He scored 17 of Boston’s 33 third-quarter points as he splashed in four of his six triples in the frame as the Celtics ran away with the win. He finished shooting 17-of-28 from floor while also grabbing 13 rebounds to go along with five assists and zero turnovers.
Tatum clearly had a scorching-hot hand, something 76ers star guard James Harden knows something about. It was Harden who caught fire to help the 76ers steal Game 1 of the series. And Harden, who turned in an abysmal showing in Philadelphia’s final game of the season by scoring just nine points on 3-for-11 shooting, knew Tatum was in a zone that was nearly impossible to get him out of.
“We couldn’t do nothing to stop him,” Harden said. “He made shots tonight. He was just being aggressive the entire night. We double teamed. He got off the ball. His teammates made shots. I mean at that rate, he got it going and their entire team got it going. They’re shot-makers.”
