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Jayson Tatum brought the Boston Celtics to a 115-114 win over the Brooklyn Nets with a spin move and layup as the clock ran out. The Celtics took a 1-0 lead in their playoff series while Tatum had a viral moment.
Boston was up as much as 15 points ahead, but the Nets were just seconds from the end. Kevin Durant tried to give his team a bigger cushion, but he missed a three-point shot attempt. Al Horford got the defensive rebound and with just 12 seconds on the clock the Celtics rushed to the basket. With less than four seconds left, Marcus Smart had the ball. Instead of shooting it, he decided to pump a fake and pass it to Tatum.
The forward/guard finished the game with 31 points, eight assists, four rebounds and two blocks. However, as expected, the conversation on Twitter was all about his game winner.
Golden State’s Draymond Green acknowledged Smart’s wise decision to pass the ball and said Smart probably would have made a different decision last year.
Charlotte Hornet forward Miles Bridges was just as shocked as the rest of us by what Tatum accomplished. He used a few words and the flushed face emoji.
Bradley Beal also used some emojis to describe what he just saw because sometimes words aren’t enough. He used four fire emojis to describe the series and capital letters to talk about Tatum’s twisting motion.
The Cavaliers’ big man, Kevin Love, first tweeted about the ending and then took to Twitter again to share what the rest of the world thought of the entertainment potential of this series.
It’s not just the NBA world watching. New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones is taking advantage of the offseason to enjoy some good basketball. Jones wasn’t the only one. Retired NFL veterans like Julian Edelman also enjoyed the show.
Game 2 is scheduled for Wednesday, April 20 at 7:00 p.m. ET in Boston