Jayson Tatum Finishes 6th in ESPN MVP Straw Poll Before 41 Points vs. Nets

NEW YORK — Jayson Tatum cut back line, caught an alley-oop, ran in transition for a dunk, hit a pair of pull-up threes, then buried one more and turned to the crowd behind the basket Boston shot on to blow a kiss. Tatum scored 16 points in the first quarter and tied a career-high with 31 through halftime. Then — his job changed.

“No temptation (to score more). I’ve had my fair share of 50 and I’ve scored 60 before,” Tatum said. “I know I can do that. It’s all about playing in a rhythm. Came out out second half understanding that they may guard me differently or come hit. So I was handling the ball a lot more and just trying to manipulate the defense. Guys kept setting screens, they were getting behind the defense, I threw it over the top. Whether they scored or not, or kicked it out for a hockey assist, I was just trying to find ways to impact the game.”

The Celtics held on, 118-110, to beat the Nets on Tuesday despite a 53-46 rally by Brooklyn in the second half that drew them within six points twice in the final three minutes. Tatum posted 14 rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block in a line befitting his sixth-place status in ESPN’s latest straw poll released that morning. He finished far behind consensus favorite Nikola Jokić, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Dončić, with Kawhi Leonard ahead of Tatum as well. While Jokić’s perennial argument as the most valuable player became irrefutable long ago and Leonard shares many of Tatum’s best attributes on a winning Los Angeles team, the other front-runners mostly share volume statistical advantages over Tatum as he’s sacrificed.

Tatum’s last 10 games more closely resemble an MVP stat line — 28.2 points, 9.1 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.1 blocks and 1.1 steals per game on 50.3% shooting. His turnovers scaled way down to three, at most, in his last seven games while Tuesday broke a streak of six games of seven or more assists over his previous seven. Mazzulla derided all-star voting before the game for snubbing Kristaps Porziņģis and Derrick White despite their team’s record. The Celtics, after his comments, improved to 40-11 when Tatum plays.

“I think his shot selection has been great over this stretch,” Mazzulla said. “I think his patience has been great over this stretch. Reading the defense. Manipulating the defense … being open-minded to, tonight, I might get doubled, tonight they might run to hit, they might front, they might brush up on me. I think the open-mindedness to understand how he’s gonna be guarded differently every night, then he’s quickly recognizing that during the game and using that to his advantage. He’s enjoying studying the defenses.”

In the first half on Tuesday, Tatum scored five times inside and hit five long jump shots. He shot 2-for-7 in the third and only took two shots in the final frame, both times makes playing off Jrue Holiday, who racked up 12 assists by finding Boston’s advantages. Sometimes he and Al Horford drew the post touches that Tatum and Porziņģis, who sat on Tuesday, utilized in what Mazzulla made sure to tout as the second-highest volume and most efficient posting-up offense in the league. Pressuring Cam Thomas, who played late with five fouls, became more pertinent than racking up shots and points for Tatum with the game on the line.

Through their most uneven stretch of the season, the Celtics improved to winners of 13-of-16, increasing their lead in the east to 6.0 games over Cleveland and looking untouchable even as the Nets’ wings piled up baskets late. Brooklyn shot 41.2% from three in the second half and only matched Boston’s seven makes, never pulling within one possession. Mazzulla even mixed in intentional fouls on Ben Simmons and Nic Claxton midway through the game to keep things fresh. The all-star break awaited in two days and it looked like it at times, again, in the second half. Holiday even expressed not being able to wait to get there, and hoped passing more would energize the team.

“I think those kick-outs, the energy of that ball swinging and getting a wide open shot is a good feeling,” Holiday said, describing why he kicked-out late while driving at Thomas. “It just shows that you have trust in your teammates.”

Mazzulla didn’t like aspects of the second half. Boston slowed down, allowing Brooklyn’s switching on defense to play more disruptively. That’s an area of growth for Tatum the Celtics have enjoyed, but turnovers and bad misses sent the Nets out in transition while the team’s half court offense also heated up. Boston needs to play fast to defeat switching like Brooklyn’s, the team that switches the most in the league. Brown played erratically, finishing 3-for-9 with three turnovers in the second half, while Tatum admitted to playing decoy.

Yet when Brooklyn pulled within six on a 7-0 run, the Celtics ripped off scoring plays on four straight possessions with Tatum largely off-ball. Brown swung the defense away from Derrick White to set up a three, attacked the basket for two more. Holiday hit Tatum in the corner to score by stepping past Dennis Schröder, and Boston led by 11.

The Celtics wrap up the first half on Wednesday, aware they can win in different ways, that their defensive identity and offensive rebounding can get them through shooting lulls. That they can get by without a starter, and sometimes two. Help is on the way in two bench additions due to return to the court for the second half. And while Brown and Tatum will travel to Indianapolis, neither among the favorites to win MVP, they’ve figured out a formula to win most games and cruise to the postseason. All while finding improvement points each night.

Eventually, the Celtics will depend on Tatum’s consistent shot-making to get them where they want to go. Perhaps the biggest gap between him and that elusive MVP. The other approach, adapting to the situation, will lead to his first championship.

“We rely on (Tatum) to make (shots),” Holiday said. “He’s not afraid to shoot them, but tonight, him making those shots gave us a lot of energy. Definitely gave us a boost to go out there, lock in defensively and get him the ball back.”