Jayson Tatum wins first Eastern Conference Finals MVP
Malika Andrews: Jayson Tatum wins the inaugural Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals MVP.
Source: Twitter @malika_andrews
What’s the buzz on Twitter?
Jake Fischer @JakeLFischer
From March reporting @BR_NBA: How Boston’s league-best defense and the Celtics’ trade deadline maneuvers unlocked the partnership of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, creating an unquestioned title contender: bleacherreport.com/articles/10031… – 11:46 PM
Tim Bontemps @TimBontemps
Al Horford jokes he “didn’t know how to act” when the game ended. Said he’s proud to see guys like Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart grow. – 11:45 PM
David Locke @DLocke09
On December 3rd Boston Celtics came to Utah and lost 137-130 and the number one topic around the Celtics which player Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown Boston should keep and which they should trade. Now to the Finals. – 11:43 PM
Jorge Sierra @hoopshype
CONFERENCE FINALS
Official MVPs: Stephen Curry, Jayson Tatum
Best players: Luka Doncic, Jimmy Butler
Don’t @ me. – 11:37 PM
Chris Palmer @ChrisPalmerNBA
Jayson Tatum is the premiere small forward in the NBA. 1st Team All-NBA, All-Star, Conference Finals MVP. On the way to the Finals. Just turned 24. – 11:34 PM
Rob Perez @WorldWideWob
Radio Roulette is LIVE @UnderdogFantasy
– Game 7 Hell in a Cell
– Jayson Tatum MVP
– Jimmy Butler’s heroics
– Kyle Lowry/Marcus Smart
– Looking ahead to The Finals
– 5 Big Questions, Celtics vs. Warriors
– Jimmy’s 3
Talking about it all night ⬇️
youtube.com/watch?v=llHTN0… – 11:34 PM
Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
Celtics win 100-96. Win ECF 4-3
Tatum – 26/10/6/1/2
Brown – 24/6/6
Smart – 24/9/5/2
Horford – 5/14/3/1/2
Celtics – 41.2% FGs
Celtics – 11-32 threes
Celtics – 13 turnovers
Butler – 35 points
Adebayo – 25/11/4
Lowry – 15/7/3
Heat – 42% FGs
Heat – 6-30 threes
Heat – 10 turnovers – 11:29 PM
Michael Pina @MichaelVPina
tatum has toppled kd, giannis, and jimmy butler. next up: steph curry. what a run – 11:29 PM
StatMuse @statmuse
Jayson Tatum has won vs KD, Giannis and Jimmy this playoffs. pic.twitter.com/S8U999DW77 – 11:27 PM
Malika Andrews @malika_andrews
Jayson Tatum wins the inaugural Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals MVP. – 11:26 PM
John Karalis @John_Karalis
Jayson Tatum gets the first Larry Bird Conference Finals MVP trophy pic.twitter.com/7Q5C66oPom – 11:26 PM
Quinton Mayo @RealQuintonMayo
Jayson Tatum is certified. – 11:25 PM
Christos Tsaltas @Tsaltas46
Jayson Tatum named as 2022 Eastern Conference Finals MVP.
Tatum averaged 25 points, 8,3 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.1 steals, 46.2% FG and 35.3% 3P in 7 games.
#BleedGreen #NBAPlayoffs2022 – 11:25 PM
Ben Rohrbach @brohrbach
Jayson Tatum wins the first-ever Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals MVP award. Pretty cool. – 11:25 PM
Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
The winner of the Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals MVP is Jayson Tatum. – 11:25 PM
Chris Forsberg @ChrisForsberg_
Jayson Tatum is the inaugural Larry Bird trophy winner. – 11:24 PM
Kevin O’Connor @KevinOConnorNBA
The Celtics will target Steph Curry in the Finals like they did against the Heat defense. But the Warriors did such a good job hard hedging with Steph last round against Luka. Big challenge for Tatum and Brown to playmake out of those situations. – 11:23 PM
Sam Quinn @SamQuinnCBS
Jimmy Butler outplayed Jayson Tatum in the series. Jayson Tatum hit the star shots when Boston needed them most. – 11:22 PM
StatMuse @statmuse
Jayson Tatum is 4-1 in Game 7s.
Jaylen Brown is 5-1 in Game 7s. pic.twitter.com/jEzJ2WaJcH – 11:22 PM
StatMuse @statmuse
All-NBA First Team this season:
Luka — Eliminated
Booker — Eliminated
Giannis — Eliminated
Jokic — Eliminated
Tatum — Finals pic.twitter.com/YIBrwTONiI – 11:21 PM
Nick Friedell @NickFriedell
Jimmy and Tatum share a big hug and some kind words at center court. The Heat and Celtics showing a lot of respect towards each other — they saw each other as equals throughout the series and there was appreciation on both sides for the intensity each group showed. – 11:20 PM
Brad Botkin @bradbotkincbs
Man tatum was awesome creating shots out of doubles down the stretch – 11:17 PM
Gary Washburn @GwashburnGlobe
Tatum going to win the Larry Bird award. #Celtics #Heat – 11:17 PM
Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
Boston has made two adjustments against the doubles on Tatum:
-A guy is flashing middle at the top of the key.
-A guy is staying way deep out near halfcourt.
Either way. Tatum has an outlet. – 11:06 PM
Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
Celtics adjusting to Miami’s Tatum doubles by having Smart flare out to half court for the outlet just out of Butler’s reach, then Smart can drive deep on him since Butler isn’t in position to wall him off. Great job by Smart using the Butler jump stop and upfake in the paint. – 11:05 PM
Brian Geltzeiler @BGeltzNBA
Those last two late shot clock jumpers by Tatum to stretch this lead have been huge. He’s coming up big at the biggest time – 11:04 PM
Tommy Beer @TommyBeer
Kobe would’ve loved the footwork by Tatum on that mid-range fade – 11:04 PM
Rick Noland @RickNoland
Love Tatum, but approaching CP3 as captain of All-Whiner team – 11:03 PM
StatMuse @statmuse
JAYSON BEAN TATUM pic.twitter.com/Kx61mzcs8N – 11:03 PM
John Karalis @John_Karalis
Two huge shot from Tatum and now Jaylen draws the foul to get two free throws. Lead is 11 and Miami is in the penalty on the next foul – 11:03 PM
Rylan Stiles @Rylan_Stiles
Lord that Tatum shot. – 11:03 PM
Gary Washburn @GwashburnGlobe
Tatum coming up big here. #Celtics #Heat – 11:02 PM
Tim Bontemps @TimBontemps
Those are two absolutely massive shots by Jayson Tatum to keep the Heat at bay. – 11:02 PM
Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
Tatum very clearly got fouled by Strus. Then Butler did the move Tatum got called for in Game 6. – 11:02 PM
Matt George @MattGeorgeSAC
Jimmy Butler vs Jason Tatum is incredible. – 11:02 PM
Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
Tatum finally has his big shot, hitting a step back over Strus as Miami has been great making sure he can’t take advantage of those mismatches with the way they are doubling him as he attacks. But Boston can’t string a run together and Butler claps back in transition as always. – 11:01 PM
Kevin O’Connor @KevinOConnorNBA
Jayson Tatum side-step 3 was nasty – 11:01 PM
Gary Washburn @GwashburnGlobe
Tatum with a big 3 #Celtics #Heat – 11:00 PM
Aaron J. Fentress @AaronJFentress
That’s a horrible charging call on Tatum. Lowry was moving. – 10:58 PM
Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
Four fouls on Jayson Tatum.
That wouldn’t have gotten overturned. – 10:58 PM
Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
Jayson Tatum picks up his fourth foul on a charge taken by Lowry on the break. – 10:57 PM
James Edwards III @JLEdwardsIII
Idk man Tatum has made all the right reads tonight. Mark might need to chill lol. – 10:48 PM
Haralabos Voulgaris @haralabob
Tatum attacking a lot quicker – 10:48 PM
Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
This has to be Tatum time right now. If he’s guarded by Strus or Vincent he has to score. If he draws two, other guys need to make shots. – 10:47 PM
Bill Simmons @BillSimmons
82-79 10:56 left — this is a Jayson Tatum “let’s see it” moment if there ever was one. He came through last time in Milwaukee. – 10:46 PM
Surya Fernandez @SuryaHeatNBA
Heat down by 3 but it should be tied. Can’t get over how the NBA took away 3 Heat points after the fact. Where does it end? Can they also review that nonexistent Strus foul on that Tatum drive and take away those 2 free throws too? – 10:46 PM
Chris Mannix @SIChrisMannix
Tatum has to do more. Has to. – 10:46 PM
Adam Himmelsbach @AdamHimmelsbach
Celtics need Tatum to be Tatum to put this thing away. 7 for 18 right now. – 10:45 PM
Haralabos Voulgaris @haralabob
Miami bringing a late double on these Tatum screens – he has to go a little quicker or he’s going to consistently get doubled out of the action.
There is a 2-3 second gap where Vincent is guarding him. – 10:43 PM
A. Sherrod Blakely @ASherrodblakely
Boston leads 82-75 going into the 4Q. Key takeaways…
* Jimmy Butler (31 pts) leads all scorers
*Jayson Tatum working on a double-double (19 pts, 8 assists)
*Jaylen Brown scoring high (23 pts) and efficient (8-for-14), turnovers low (1). – 10:40 PM
Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
Celtics lead 82-75 after three
Brown – 23/5/5
Tatum – 19/8/5
Smart – 18 points
Grant – 9 points
Celtics – 43.5% FGs
Celtics – 10-27 threes
Celtics – 8 turnovers
Butler – 31 points
Adebayo – 21/10/3
Lowry – 11 points
Heat – 44.3% FGs
Heat – 5-20 threes
Heat – 10 turnovers – 10:40 PM
Haralabos Voulgaris @haralabob
Big defining moment here for Tatum imo – he was almost invisible in the 4Q of G6 – didn’t do much in the 3Q here of G7 either.. – 10:38 PM
Gary Washburn @GwashburnGlobe
#Celtics lead #Heat 82-75 after 3Q. Brown 23, Tatum 19, Smart 18, GWilliams 9; Butler 31, Adebayo 21, Lowry 11. – 10:37 PM
Brian Geltzeiler @BGeltzNBA
Tatum continues his off ball assault with the sharpest cuts you’ll ever see. Such a diverse offensive threat. – 10:31 PM
Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
Great cut by Tatum and even better pass by Horford.
Just keep moving. – 10:30 PM
Haralabos Voulgaris @haralabob
Bam is a pretty good defender, not sure being defended by him is a big embarrassment if you are Tatum. – 10:29 PM
Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
Celtics come out of the timeout with a garbage ATO followed by more nothingness as they can’t execute whatever they were doing off that Tatum down screen, but they get bailed out with a few foul calls to end up at the line. Not a good sign coming out of the timeout that stifled. – 10:28 PM
Michael Pina @MichaelVPina
boston’s defense is not good when tatum misses point-blank bunnies – 10:24 PM
Eric Patten @EricPatten
Is it bad that I think Tatum, a Celtic, wearing a Kobe armband is lame? – 10:23 PM
Jay King @ByJayKing
Could be a huge stretch there. Tatum misses two straight layups, Heat score five points off of them. – 10:23 PM
Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
Some big time passing from Tatum and Brown tonight. They’re getting theirs, but also trusting their teammates too. They’ve each got five assists and have set up a bunch of good looks off misses too. – 10:19 PM
Kevin Chouinard @KLChouinard
Lowry grifts like a demon but him pushing Strus’ body back into Tatum as Tatum tried to shoulder an opening is genius. – 10:12 PM
Mike Prada @MikePradaNBA
Jayson Tatum doing more would be good for Miami. – 10:01 PM
Michael Lee @MrMichaelLee
If Bill Russell can wear a Kobe Bryant jersey to a Lakers-Celtics game & regularly be spotted in a Kobe cap, Jayson Tatum can wear a purple armband with No. 24 in a Game 7. The rivalry ain’t as intense but we’ve come a long way from shaming Joe Forte for wearing a Magic throwback – 9:58 PM
Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
Celtics lead 55-49 at the half
Brown – 15/5/3
Tatum – 13/7/4
Smart – 9 points
Celtics – 44.7% FGs
Celtics – 8-20 threes
Celtics – 5 TOs
Celtics – 5-8 FTs
Butler – 24 points
Adebayo – 11 points
Lowry – 5 points
Heat – 42.1% FGs
Heat – 3-13 threes
Heat – 8 TOs
Heat – 14-22 FTs – 9:54 PM
Jeff Zillgitt @JeffZillgitt
Heat finish the half on an 11-2 run and cut Boston’s lead to 55-49.
Miami shot 63.6% on free throws in the first half. Game could be even closer.
Jimmy Butler with 24 points; Jaylen Brown with 15, Jayson Tatum with 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists, one block, one steal. – 9:53 PM
Rob Perez @WorldWideWob
Jayson Tatum Field Goal Attempts:
Game 6: 12
Game 7: 13 (halftime) – 9:53 PM
Brad Botkin @bradbotkincbs
We’re in such a rush to declsre tatum this top tier superstar and jimmy is just clearly better when it gets down to it – 9:52 PM
Gary Washburn @GwashburnGlobe
#Celtics lead #Heat 55-49 at half, MIA scores 12 of its 32 2Q points on FTs. Brown 15, Tatum 13, Smart 9, White 8; Butler 24, Adebayo 11.
FTS
MIA 14-22
BOS 5-8 – 9:51 PM
Steve Popper @StevePopper
Big first half for Butler, Tatum and the refs – who backed up every single flop. – 9:50 PM
Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
Tatum takes a bad 3 over Bam instead of trying to attack and pull up, then Horford tries to switch Tatum off Bam in transition and nobody picks up Butler for the open 3. Of course Jimmy drains it because he’s on a heater for the ages. 9 point game. – 9:44 PM
Adam Himmelsbach @AdamHimmelsbach
Tatum’s had some uncharacteristically ugly misses in this one. – 9:44 PM
Thon Maker @ThonMaker14
That Heat trap on Tatum is weak which causes the low man to not be there. Have to communicate it and be aggressive in executing it.
#DefenseWins #TalkEarlyLoudContinuous – 9:43 PM
Adam Himmelsbach @AdamHimmelsbach
That’s the offensive foul they’ve been calling on Tatum. Instead he got an and-1. – 9:31 PM
Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
Tatum, Smart and Udoka were all telling Rob what the inbounds play was as they walked to the huddle. He definitely wasn’t running what everyone else was. – 9:26 PM
Nick DePaula @NickDePaula
Jayson Tatum is rocking a purple #24 arm band for Game 7, with his “Black Mamba” tribute Air Jordans. 🐍 pic.twitter.com/5u9moFCIUo – 9:23 PM
Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
Short rest for Tatum and Smart. Both are checking back in next whistle. – 9:20 PM
Tas Melas @TasMelas
Jayson Tatum missed 6 first quarter shots and the Celtics still won it by 15 points. – 9:14 PM
Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
Celtics lead 32-17 after one
Tatum – 8/6/3
Grant – 7 points
Brown – 6 points
White – 5 points
Celtics – 50% FGs
Celtics – 5-9 threes
Celtics – 2 turnovers
Butler – 6 points
Adebayo – 6 points
Vincent – 4 points
Heat – 33.3% FGs
Heat – 1-7 threes
Heat – 5 turnovers – 9:14 PM
Tim Bontemps @TimBontemps
After 1: Celtics 32, Heat 17.
Dream start for Boston – including pushing the lead back to 15 with an 8-2 run to close the quarter.
Eight points already for Jayson Tatum, while Boston is 5-for-9 from 3-point range and, most importantly, has just two turnovers (Miami has four). – 9:13 PM
Gary Washburn @GwashburnGlobe
#Celtics leading #Heat 32-17 after 1Q. Tatum 8, GWilliams 7, Brown 6; Adebayo 6, Butler 6.
FG
BOS 12-24
MIA 7-19 – 9:13 PM
Adam Himmelsbach @AdamHimmelsbach
Tatum’s taken as many shots in the first 9 minutes (7) as he and Jaylen took combined in the second half of Game 6. – 9:05 PM
Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
This series has felt like it’s had a million big points swings.
Tatum misses a layup, Butler makes one.
Boston runs the clock down and misses, Vincent gets a shot at a 4-point play.
Just big swing after big swing. – 9:05 PM
Gary Washburn @GwashburnGlobe
Huge 4-point swing there with Tatum’s missed layup and Butler’s fastbreak layup. #Celtics #Heat – 9:04 PM
Alan Hahn @alanhahn
Jayson Tatum wearing a purple 24 sweatband? Kobe homage. A Celtic wearing Lakers colors! 👀 @ESPNNBA #NBAPlayoffs #Celtics – 9:00 PM
Gary Washburn @GwashburnGlobe
Tatum already has three rebounds. He has been active other than scoring. #Celtics #Heat – 8:56 PM
Tim Bontemps @TimBontemps
That was a hell of a play by Boston – perfect pass from Tatum to Grant Williams, and a great finish through contact for the and-one. Celtics have jumped out to a 16-7 lead early on here and seem dialed in. – 8:55 PM
Abby Chin @tvabby
Jayson Tatum is DOING WORK on the boards! – 8:52 PM
Ira Winderman @IraHeatBeat
Starters
Heat: Kyle Lowry, Max Strus, Jimmy Butler, P.J. Tucker, Bam Adebayo
Celtics: Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, Robert Williams III. – 8:07 PM
Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
Celtics starters for Game 7:
Robert Williams
Al Horford
Jayson Tatum
Jaylen Brown
Marcus Smart
Heat starters:
Bam Adebayo
P.J. Tucker
Jimmy Butler
Max Strus
Kyle Lowry – 8:05 PM
Sean Grande @SeanGrandePBP
Celtics at Heat – FTX Arena – May 29, 2022 – – Eastern Conference Finals Game 7 Starters
Boston – Smart, Brown, Tatum, Horford, Rob Williams
Miami – Kyle Lowry, Max Strus, Jimmy Butler, PJ Tucker, Bam Adebayo
OUT: Boston: Hauser Miami: None pic.twitter.com/B5gFrjbs7C – 8:04 PM
Jeff Zillgitt @JeffZillgitt
Celtics Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum warming up ahead of Game 7 vs. the Heat. pic.twitter.com/buxDeKw2qI – 7:21 PM
Sam Quinn @SamQuinnCBS
How deep do we think the rotations go tonight?
Boston plays seven tonight imo: Smart, Jaylen, Tatum, Horford, RWIII, Grant, White
Heat play Jimmy, PJ, Kyle, Bam, Strus, Vincent, Herro and Oladipo, but cut at least one, if not two of those guys out in the second half. – 7:09 PM
Sean Grande @SeanGrandePBP
FWIW, lost in Friday night’s Game 6, Jayson Tatum made four 3’s, breaking the Celtics franchise record for a single-season, including playoffs. pic.twitter.com/6Br8QUF2Ue – 12:35 AM
More on this storyline
Chris Haynes: How the results came in for the Eastern Conference Finals MVP. -via Twitter @ChrisBHaynes / May 29, 2022
StatMuse: Celtics revenge tour complete. — Eliminated by Nets in 2021 1R — Beat Nets in 2022 1R — Eliminated by Bucks in 2019 2R — Beat Bucks in 2022 2R — Eliminated by Heat in 2020 ECF — Beat Heat in 2022 ECF pic.twitter.com/AoMoCXo68N -via Twitter @statmuse / May 29, 2022
Anthony Slater: Finals schedule for Warriors-Celtics is spread out. Two days off between every game except for G3 and G4. pic.twitter.com/6ilHHA8C81 -via Twitter @anthonyVslater / May 29, 2022
