Three non-Jayson Tatum plays that helped the Celtics survive Milwaukee's fourth quarter run

Jayson Tatum saved the Celtics in Game 6, scoring 46 points (16 in the fourth quarter) to help force a Game 7 in Boston on Sunday afternoon. 

He was sublime. He played like a superstar. He answered every Bucks bucket, it seemed. 

And he was not alone. 

Lost in the very deserved hoopla surrounding Tatum’s performance were some pretty significant fourth quarter plays that helped the Celtics pull off the win. Here are a few that deserve some additional love.

9:17, 84-78 Boston, Al Horford blocks George Hill

It was happening again. Boston’s lead was dwindling, and they actually got a stop but then they gave up the offensive rebound. Instead of getting the putback, though, Hill was blocked from behind by Horford and the Celtics secured the ball. 

Tatum was fouled on the other end and hit one of two free throws. 

7:07, 90-83 Boston, Grant Williams steals it from Bobby Portis, Marcus Smart draws a foul

This was still a tight game even with Tatum’s heroics. Milwaukee had cut it to four and Tatum answered with a 3-pointer to make it seven. 

Giannis Antetokounmpo was driving when he saw Portis cutting, but Williams slowed him just enough to throw off the timing of the play (a Milwaukee fan may argue that he slowed Portis by fouling him, but if they didn’t call a travel on this, then a foul like this can be excused as well). The lead pass is now up for grabs, and it’s Williams who grabs it. 

Bonus: Smart baits Hill into a foul. That gives the Celtics a little breather, a chance to sub in Derrick White, and puts them one step closer to putting Milwaukee in the penalty. Tatum can thank that foul for the two free throws later on that got him to 46 points. 

5:12, 95-87 Boston, Jaylen Brown 3-pointer

Looking at this play again shows you the brilliance of its design. 

Brown sets a cross-screen to get Tatum in the post. The Celtics love running things for Tatum posting up a smaller player, and he’s been hot to this point, so you can see how concerned Milwaukee is about it. 

Brown should go off to space in the right corner … except … 

The post-up is a misdirection. It’s a ruse aimed at capitalizing on all the focus on Tatum. Brown makes his break after a second, getting screens from White and Horford. He curls off the Horford screen into a perfect in-rhythm 3-pointer. 

Beautifully executed, and Boston’s lead crosses back into double digits, where it would stay for the rest of the game. 

BONUS PLAY

11:08: Al Horford blocks Giannis Antetokounmpo

Milwaukee got the ball back and Giannis got a dunk anyway, but Horford’s block certainly deserves more attention. Horford was really, really good defensively in this game and I just wanted to make sure this block was given its due praise.

Plus, it’s a tone-setting kind of play. If Horford is getting up to block Antetokounmpo like that, then everyone has to step up and make these kinds of effort plays. I’ll go back to what Tatum said after the Horford dunk on Giannis in Game 4. 

“Especially any time Al turns back the clock and look like his old self … it gets everybody off the bench,” he said. “Al plays with so much passion. When Al is playing with passion like that, everybody has to follow.” 

All the focus after a game like that is on the superstar performance, and for good reason. But it takes a team effort to truly put another team away. Horford was a tremendous part of the overall effort to make that happen, and these other plays show how important it is for everyone to carry some weight. 

It’s not something they’ve always been able to do, and it’s not always perfect (Game 5 can attest to that), but they always seem to bounce back. 

“Taking our lumps early has benefited us for sure,” Ime Udoka said. “We understand how to close it out and when the games do get tight. … For us, it's we've gotten these leads, so let's figure out how to close out games now. Like I said, we've lost quite a few early in the season and those helped us for these times in the playoffs and going forward."