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Paul George anoints Jayson Tatum MVP after game-winning jumper vs. Nets
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- Paul George anoints Jayson Tatum MVP after game-winning jumper vs. Nets
BOSTON — The 2026-27 NBA season is still in its infancy, but Boston Celtics wing Paul George is already getting the MVP conversation started for his superstar teammate, Jayson Tatum. During an Atlantic Division showdown with the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night, Tatum finished with 40 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, and one game-winning buzzer-beater that gave the C's a 125-124 victory in overtime.
The Nets knew Tatum was receiving the ball on the final play of the game, yet he was still able to shake free of two defenders for a great look near the top of the key. The six-time All-Star buried the jumper as time expired and was shortly mobbed by his ecstatic teammates.
George had a simple breakdown of the big-time shot at TD Garden.
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"We got the ball to the MVP, and he took us home," he said in the locker room.
Tatum logged a whopping 42 minutes in the narrow win and was aggressive the entire time. He got to the paint, drew fouls (he ended with a career-high 22 attempts from the free throw line), and worked around Brooklyn's double teams. George attributed this to the time Tatum spent on the bench last season when he missed over 60 games while rehabbing from an Achilles injury, as the Celtics superstar learned on the sidelines instead of isolating himself from the team.
"I've been in his position, being out from injury," George said. "You come back to the game, you see the game differently...You see a mature JT out there. He makes the right plays. Not only is he scoring...efficiently, but he's making the right plays and he's getting assists and he's getting guys involved. He knows the attention that he draws and he's making the right plays."
Although Tatum held the ball throughout the nail-biting contest, he never turned it over. The 2024 NBA champion didn't feel the constant pressure the Nets sent at him.
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"Everything is calm," George described when asked what hitting a game-winner feels like. "Everything just slows down. In that situation, JT knew to get to his spot and raise up, and he did it confidently. The crowd erupts, and that's when the emotion comes out. So, it's a special place to be in."
The crowd did erupt following Tatum's buzzer-beater, however, it wasn't as loud as it could've been. Many Celtics fans left near the end of the fourth quarter because the home team held a 116-111 lead with just 13 seconds remaining in regulation. They need to better acquaint themselves with the modern NBA, because no lead is safe nowadays.
Thanks to some brutal fouls, a pair of missed free throws from Celtics center Mitchell Robinson, and a miraculous 3-pointer from Nets rookie Mikel Brown Jr. that tied the game with less than a second to go, Boston experienced overtime for the first time this season.
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But, even with a diminished crowd, the frenzy TD Garden underwent after Tatum's jump shot made the tenth-year Celtic smile.
"It was a hell of a feeling," Tatum said of hitting his first game-winner since coming back from injury in March. "Just getting back to doing things that I used to do before before I was injured, and sharing that moment with my teammates on the court, seeing them rally and being excited for me."
Through four games, in which the Celtics have posted a 3-1 record, Tatum has averaged 28 points, 8 rebounds, and almost 7 assists per outing. Perhaps George's compliments will initiate an MVP campaign, yet everybody within the Green Team seems more concerned with improving as a unit and familiarizing themselves with one another.
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"I'm learning how to play off these guys," George admitted. "I'm learning how to be aggressive, finding my moments. It's getting there. It's definitely been a work in progress, but I think I'm trending in the right way, and most importantly, I'm just having fun playing out there with those guys."
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Paul George anoints Jayson Tatum MVP after game-winning jumper vs. Nets
