By Tennie Sumague
EBC New York Bureau
BROOKLYN (Eagle News)–Rookie Jayson Tatum scored Boston’s final five points as the Celtics edged past the Brooklyn Nets 87-85 at Barclays Center for their sixth straight victory.
“[Jayson] is not scared of the moment,” said Celtics Head Coach, Brad Stevens. “Never has been.”
With the game going down to the wire,Tatum scored on a dunk to give Boston an 84-83 lead. After Kyrie Irving missed a shot, Irving stripped the ball away from Nets forward, DeMarre Carroll to set up Tatum with a corner three-point jumper to extend their lead to four with 45 seconds left.
The Nets cut the deficit to a bucket and had several attempts to tie the game, but the Celtics held on and proved why they are the number one defensive team in the NBA.
“It’s come down to the wire a few games with these guys which you can appreciate,” Irving said of the last possession of the game. “They play with a sense of freedom. It was like playing kind of throw up in football. You have one person gathering the ball and everybody is trying to tackle that one person. I felt like that’s what we were playing down the stretch. At one point there were so many bodies on the floor the last few possessions. It’s just a learning experience at that end but you just have to try to be very aggressive and be smart and understanding the way the games are being called. I felt like we did a great job adjusting.”
Irving led the Celtics with 21 points, Tatum added 14 points. Spencer Dinwiddie led the Nets with 20 points.
As part of the NBA’s Global Games, the Celtics will head to London to face the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday. The Nets will face the Toronto Raptors Monday at home.
(Eagle News Service)