Celtics Reveal Major Jayson Tatum Stat Amid Playoffs

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Rodney Knuppel | Last updated May 2, 2025 11:11 AM ET

Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics are the defending NBA champions and still feel like they have plenty to prove in the 2025 NBA playoffs. After taking care of Dallas last June, the Celtics have flown under the radar for much of this season.

Boston won 61 games in the regular season, locked up the second seed in the Eastern Conference and eliminated the Orlando Magic in five games. Now, the Celtics are gearing up for their second-round matchup against the New York Knicks.

Tatum has been a major force once again, just like he was during the regular season. He played in 72 games and averaged 26.8 points across the 82-game slate.

Now in the postseason, Tatum has taken his game to another level—and the Celtics have taken notice.

Lighting it up like Larry ☘️ pic.twitter.com/Ffp4l7xJDM
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 2, 2025

He kicked off a run of three straight games with 35+ points in Game 3 against Orlando. The 6-foot-8 former Duke star dropped 36 points in 39 minutes. Game 4 was even better: Tatum exploded for 37 points and grabbed 14 rebounds while logging 42 minutes. Then in the Game 5 clincher on Tuesday, he tallied 35 points in just 34 minutes.

Being just the second Celtics player to post three straight playoff games with 35+ points is impressive enough. But any time your name shows up in the same sentence as Larry Bird, it's a big deal.

Bird played in Boston from 1979-92, winning three NBA championships, earning two Finals MVPs and taking home three regular season MVP awards. Larry Legend scored 35+ points in Games 5-7 of the 1988 Eastern Conference finals against the Detroit Pistons, as series won by Boston.

Tatum, the third overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, has built quite the postseason résumé of his own. He’s now appeared in 117 playoff games, averaging 24.2 points per contest.

The Celtics will host the Knicks in Game 1 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals on Monday. The last time these two teams met was back on April 8, a narrow 119-117 win for Boston in overtime. The Celtics won the season series 4-0.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: