It was a tough night at the office for Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, who struggled in their 109-103 Game 3 loss to the Miami Heat at TD Garden on Saturday.
Tatum managed just 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting, including 1-of-7 from the 3-point line. He added six rebounds and four assists and accounted for six of the Celtics’ 23 turnovers.
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“Six turnovers and no field goals in the second half, that is unacceptable. I gotta to play better, Tatum said postgame. “I feel like I left the guys hanging tonight. That’s on me”
Through the first two games of the series, Tatum had averaged 28 points per game and along with his off-shooting night, he was forced to briefly exit the game with a ‘stinger’ in his shoulder.
In the fourth quarter, Tatum collided with Victor Oladipo and was on the floor in pain, grabbing at his shoulder. He quickly went back to the locker room for further examination.
Jayson Tatum went to the locker room with an apparent shoulder injury after this play. pic.twitter.com/0k2J5RwWst
— ESPN (@espn) May 22, 2022
He returned to the action shortly after.
“My neck got caught in a weird position,” Tatum said. “I felt some pain and discomfort in my neck and down my arm, went to the back and got it checked on, started to gain some feeling back, got it checked by the doctors, ran some tests and decided to give it a go.”
Jayson Tatum on his shoulder: “My neck got caught in a weird position… I felt some pain and discomfort in my neck and down my arm… started to gain some feeling back, got it checked by the doctors and decided to give it a go.” pic.twitter.com/fFGDn8DWAc
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) May 22, 2022
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With Tatum struggling to get going, Jaylen Brown seized control of the Celtics’ offense, going off for 40 points and nine rebounds on an efficient 14-of-20 from the field.
In attack mode all night, Brown became the first player in the shot clock era (since 1954-55) to have a 40-point playoff game on 100 percent shooting from 2-point range, going 11-of-11 inside the arc, per ESPN Stats & Info.
With the ball in his hands, Brown also accounted for seven turnovers on the night as the Celtics’ lack of ball control helped the Heat pull away to a big lead.
Miami turned 24 Boston turnovers into 33 points, scoring 15 points in transition as they led by as many as 26 points.
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“When you turn the ball over 24 times and gift them 33 points out of that, you dig yourself a hole,” Celtics head coach Ime Udoka said postgame. “Credit, we fought back and got it to a one-point game and made some mistakes and more turnovers, but you dig yourself in that big of a hole due to playing in a crowd, we understand how they’re going to guard us.
The Celtics will look to tie up the series on their home floor, with Game 4 set for Monday, May 23, with tip-off at 8:30 p.m. ET.