Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics came up with a statement win on Sunday night as they took down Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, 139-118. It was an absolute blowout in this Christmas day spectacle, and for good measure, Tatum came out with arguably the play of the game with a filthy poster dunk on Giannis.
For starters, below is the play in question. Tatum got a clear path to the lane after a give-and-go play with Marcus Smart. Antetokounmpo was a bit late on the help from the weak side, and the Celtics superstar emphatically punished the former back-to-back MVP:
JAYSON TATUM POSTER ON GIANNIS 😱
(via @NBA)pic.twitter.com/X5RpjuQyVL
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 25, 2022
Tough with a capital T.#PhantomCam | #NBAXmas 🎄🎁 pic.twitter.com/ErmI6hgC2F
— NBA (@NBA) December 25, 2022
Unsurprisingly, Tatum’s monster jam on Giannis had NBA Twitter buzzing:
— JUNIOR (@cleanheart_emp) December 25, 2022
Giannis has been getting exposed this game 😂😂 i was told he was the best defender in the world
— fan account (@Asensii20) December 25, 2022
GiannFraud just got humiliated on that one😭😭
— @BronGotGame December 25, 2022
HE FINISHED ALL OVER GIANNIS MY GOODNESS
— TicNation ☘️ (@PritchBurner) December 25, 2022
Tatum to Giannis pic.twitter.com/XVVTxJxpHz
— TheHomieJoker🃏 (@TheHomieJoker) December 25, 2022
To be fair, you have to give credit to Antetokounmpo for jumping with Tatum here. Giannis completely understood the risk of getting posterized, but he still did all he could to try and stop the dunk. Unfortunately for him, it did not end well for the Bucks superstar on this particular occasion.
Jayson Tatum was a beast for the Celtics on Sunday, finishing with 41 points on 14-of-22 shooting. He also logged seven rebounds, five assists, three steals, and just one turnover in 36 minutes of action. Giannis wasn’t bad himself, going for 27 points and nine rebounds, but Milwaukee’s collective effort clearly wasn’t enough in this lopsided matchup.
Boston’s win has now allowed them to extend their lead to 1.5 games over the Bucks at the top of the Eastern Conference. Tatum and Co. also handed the Bucks their third straight loss as the Celtics solidified their supremacy in the East.
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