Jayson Tatum didn’t adopt a killer mentality Sunday at TD Garden. In fact, it was somewhat of an opposite approach that helped power his historic Game 7 performance against the Sixers.
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"At the end of the day, it's basketball. It's something that I've been doing since I was a kid, something I love to do, and just go out there and relax and have fun," Tatum said."When you go out there and relax and kind of think about those days when you were a kid at the YMCA or whatever, the game kind of opens up.
"Just trying not to think about the pressure, what everybody's gonna say and just focus on the game and having fun. And I think that's essentially when I'm at my best.". After Tatum went a combined 0 for 15 in the first quarters of Games 4, 5 and 6, the Celtics head coach essentially told his best player not to worry about scoring early in Game 7.
"I told him when the game starts, don't listen to people and try to get out to a good start scoring," Mazzulla said."You're not defined by scoring in my book, and that's most important: Don't let your identity get caught up in what others say about you." The result was Tatum letting the game come to him instead of forcing difficult shots. He made a concerted effort to attack the paint in the first half, with eight of his nine field goals through two quarters coming on 2-point field goals.
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