Jayson Tatum’s Record Game 7 Takes Refs Out of Play in Clincher vs 76ers

BOSTON — Adrian Wojnarowski’s report set the stage for a referee game. A series nearly even in free throw attempts, offensive rebounding and turnovers through six games fittingly reached a seventh, but with Scott Foster, Eric Lewis and Bill Kennedy on the call. Whatever the pretext or intent, someone pointed Wojnarowksi toward the advantage in missed calls the Celtics left Game 6 with, and shined a light of the game crew ahead of the decisive matchup.

“It was disappointing to see, honestly,” Doc Rivers said pre-game. “A 13-4 disparity in a one point, two point game, it’s hard to recover from. It really is. When we saw the report, which we read, and then saw the calls that were missed, the trip on James Harden down the stretch, when he fell to the floor. The loose ball, where they called a timeout and they didn’t have the ball, plus there was a foul on (Marcus) Smart on the play where there would’ve been free throws. That’s hard to recover from, it really is. Having said that, it’s a human game and you have to just try to play through it. Usually, the disparities are never that great most games. There are 2-3 and you can live with those, but 13-4, that’s hard.”

As refs you suck chants rained down, Joe Mazzulla stood at mid-court with Kennedy after a foul call on Derrick White. Jaylen Brown saw Foster storming to the Philadelphia sideline after Georges Niang held him from getting back into play to deliver a technical. The officiating became the early story of the game.

By halftime — with Jayson Tatum heating up toward arguably his best game ever — the Celtics began separating themselves to an extent where no decisions by the referees could swing the game. Tatum scored 51 points, a Game 7 record, nearly matched the scoring output of his teammates in the first half and added 17 during a runaway third quarter that boosted Boston ahead by as many as 30 points. The Celtics advanced to the east finals, 112-88, and await the Miami Heat in a rematch of last year’s thriller.

“I’m gonna go home and have a glass of wine, start watching film on Miami and then we’ll meet as a staff at 10,” Mazzulla said post-game. “Keep it as normal as I can. Italian red.”

P.J. Tucker hit 2-of-3 while ignored in the corner to begin the afternoon, before Philadelphia flipped that play and ran Harden into his corner after Tucker passed out and cut for a layup. The 76ers effectively counteracted the Robert Williams III defensive scheme and lineup adjustment by generating 11 Tucker points, but Harden’s Game 6 struggles extended for another night and Embiid struggled to shake Al Horford’s defense. The star duo finished 8-for-29 from the field.

That victory faded quickly when Tatum won the series, initiating an iconic night when he tore past Tucker for a driving dunk and made his first shot attempt for the first time since Game 3. When Philadelphia brought pressure, Tatum dumped the ball to Horford in the pocket, who fed Williams III for a dunk, hit four free throws attacking the rim and used another low post feed to set Smart up for three.

While Tatum started aggressive, the 76ers contested his in the lane. Embiid sent Tatum away stumbling with a rejection before Tucker and De’Anthony Melton stuffed Jaylen Brown at the rim to build on a 29-20 lead. Tatum stayed persistent, digging into his mid-range bag to hit a shot off glass, then he found Horford for three.

The officiating enraged the crowd briefly in the second quarter when officials reversed an obvious over-and-back turnover on Harris. Mazzulla lit up Kennedy at half court after White pulled his hands away from Harden on a pull-up jumper they award two free throws to Philadelphia on. Boston didn’t challenge. Free throws stayed even throughout the night (19-18 Philadelphia) and the officials let Horford and Boston’s guards defend Embiid and Harden physically.

“I saw (the reports),” Mazzulla said. “We both shot seven free throws in the first half. I really don’t think it was that big of a deal. I think because of the reports or whatever the case may be, it seems louder. You see the report, you go out in the game, they make three calls and it’s like, see. I don’t think that was the case. I think the free throws (were 12-10 PHI) at the half, and so I thought it was a well-officiated game.”

Horford stripped Embiid in the lane and sent Tatum running for a layup that he missed. Harden tried to run the break in the other direction, losing the ball as his right arm followed through into Brown and sent the Celtics star flying into the stanchion with a nose bleed. Officials reviewed the play, with the 76ers ahead by eight points, and called a flagrant foul. A double digit game in Philadelphia’s favor completely collapsed on them.

Within 30 seconds — Brown hit two free throws, Tatum landed an alley-oop to Williams III and Brown ran back a steal on Tyrese Maxey to pull the Celtics back within two points. Frustration mounted further for Brown when he chased a defensive rebound toward the 76ers’ bench and Georges Niang grabbed his leg to stop him from reentering play.

Brown approached the bench as the Celtics ran back on offense, drawing the players double technicals. Boston took off on a 53-23 run, building a 30-point advantage into the second half and removing any officiating questions from play for the rest of the night.

“The intensity was just high,” Brown said. “It was a loose ball, me and James are fighting for it, I think I got away with maybe a foul on James, but I fell into their bench and I just think with the intensity of the game and emotions flying around, I think he just thought, maybe let me try to grab him and slow him down a little bit. I don’t think Niang’s a bad guy or anything, I think he just got caught up in the intensity of the game and made a play, and I responded to it. I don’t know which way I should’ve responded to it, but if I didn’t do anything, they probably would’ve played 0n, and here comes Scott Foster, right away, without deciphering the situation.”

“Somehow, coming out of all that commotion, it ended up being even. It was no advantage from that.”

Only Tatum’s shot-making mattered from that point on. He jabbed from the right corner and scored with his left hand past Harris after Brown worked the ball inside and out. He attacked Harris from the left wing, spun to his left and scored again at the rim. He hit a pull-up two and sunk a floater — that in-between shot one he struggled immensely with to begin the postseason at 25.5% on non-restricted zone paint attempts.

The shots kept Embiid, who tore threw Horford, Williams III and Smart to draw free throws, from extending Philadelphia’s lead. It allowed Tatum, who shot two threes to that point, to step back around a screen and bury one over Embiid.

“As I’ve gotten older and went through my career, just trying to grow, I’ve always been able to score the ball, I’ve always been looked at as a scorer,” Tatum said. “But to be the best player, to be one of the best players, what can I do each and every night besides scoring to impact the game, and dominate in those ways. Dominate is not only about scoring, I try to rebound the best I can, compete on defense, get blocks, get assists, those things excite my teammates a little bit more than hitting shots. They’re used to seeing that. Me diving on the floor, me coming over to the weak side to get a block, that sometimes gives us more energy than me hitting a step-back three.”

Embiid’s discouraged body language began when he needed to pass out of the post twice against Horford to begin the third quarter, only trailing by three points. Horford blocked him at the free throw line on the third possessions and subtly waved off one of the officials as he ran back on defense, picking up Tatum in the cross-match. Tatum stepped back into the left corner and drained another three, one of four in a back-breaking quarter.

The 76ers called timeout and Embiid went to his injured knee. Maxey gave a pep top, but Tatum kept attacking. He hit another pull-up three. He drew free throws driving at Embiid to reach 35 points midway through the frame. Philadelphia tried double teams, and Tatum threw post touches to Horford to find Brown for threes.

“Make or miss league,” Maxey told CLNS Media. “I think we did a really good job on him all series. Maybe he was due for one. We’ve been guarding him really well, switching on him really well, we made him frustrated. Joel protected the rim really well. He hit some big shots tonight, he got going, and once a scorer like that gets going, it’s hard to stop.”

The Celtics led by 18. Harden threw a pass out-of-bounds. Embiid pitched the ball to Harden for a back court violation and Malcolm Brogdon effectively ended the Sixers’ season with a pull-up three. Boston held Philadelphia to 10 points in the third, tied for the fewest ever by a team in the playoffs during the shot clock era.

As Tatum kept attacking into the fourth, pushing Brogdon toward the rim in transition, finishing a pair of shots at the rim and breaking Curry’s short-lived record with a corner three sizing up Embiid. The Sixers’ star duo mustered zero points in the fourth. Tatum, shortly before exiting the game midway through the fourth, raised his arm in an effective bow as the crowd gave its standing ovation. Rivers only ever saw one performance quite like it.

“I’ve seen one (performance like this),” Rivers said. “And it was in this building, unfortunately, and it was LeBron. That’s the only time I’ve seen a performance like that live. I’m glad that I haven’t seen many, but I’ve seen one. Tatum was not only unbelievable, he played just hard defensively and didn’t take a lot of bad shots.”