Jayson Tatum was the difference maker Wednesday night.
The Celtics forward had the game in his hands with Boston down 120-119 to the Milwaukee Bucks. But Tatum sank a 3-point shot with 0.4 seconds left, and it proved to be the game-winner.
Boston defeated Milwaukee 122-121 in thrilling fashion after Giannis Antetokounmpo was at the free-throw line on the following play. But he missed his second attempt as time expired.
“(Head coach) Brad (Stevens) drew up a play for me to get the ball and make a play,” Tatum said after the game, as seen on NBC Sports Boston’s postgame coverage.
For Tatum, this is a moment he has dreamed of since he was kid.
“Ever since I was a kid I always wanted to be in that position,” he said on the TNT broadcast after the game.
But even though he racked up 30 points and helped the green to begin the season 1-0, Tatum wasn’t impressed with himself.
“I played terrible tonight,” he said on the TNT broadcast. “Shoutout to (Jaylen Brown). He was great. (Jeff) Teague, Tristan (Thompson). It’s a team game.”
Brown notched a team-high 33 points, with Teague contributing 19 off the bench. Thompson, meanwhile, amassed 12.
Here are some other notes from Wednesday’s Celtics-Bucks game:
— There may not have been fans in attendance at TD Garden, but Brown was thinking of them when Tatum made the game-winner.
“I know all the Celtics fans were going crazy,” he said, per the Celtics. “We appreciate you guys. Keep sending your energy. Even though you’re not in the building, we still might feel it.”
Speaking of Tatum’s shot, what did Brown think?
“Hell of a shot by JT,” he said. “I don’t know if he called glass but I’ll take it.”
— Thompson started the game after being removed from Boston’s injury report a day prior.
The big man was on a minutes restriction due to a hamstring injury he’s been nursing.
“He wanted more,” Stevens said on NBC Sports Boston’s postgame coverage.
— Stop us if you’ve heard this before: the Celtics had trouble closing out the game.
Boston struggled mightily with that last season, and the same could be said Wednesday night. The defense struggled at times, and the C’s just couldn’t maintain the lead without Milwaukee getting right back in it.
“We have to play a lot better on that end,” Stevens said on NBC Sports Boston’s postgame coverage.
— Brown praised Marcus Smart after the game for keeping them together.
“I was proud of Marcus Smart. He did a good job keeping us together,” he said, via Boston Sports Journal’s Brian Robb.
— Boston now looks to move to 2-0 on Christmas Day when it takes on Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets.
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