The Boston Celtics came away with a blowout victory over the New York Knicks in Game 3 to put their series at 2-1. At the forefront of the victory was Jayson Tatum, who scored 22 points while hitting five 3-pointers.
The Celtics won the game by 22 exactly, so Tatum’s scoring output was literally the difference. With the 22-point performance, Tatum now has 2,894 playoff points in total. That’s very impressive, knowing that Tatum is only 27 years old.
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As it turns out, Tatum scoring that many ranks him second among NBA players all-time in points scored at 27 or younger. The only one ahead of Tatum is LeBron James, who scored 3,275 by that age.
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0).© Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images
Tatum is not only ahead of James, but he has also surpassed Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant. The late NBA legend scored 2,889 points by the time he was at Tatum’s age. Tatum narrowly surpassed him before his Game 2 performance wrapped up. The two were tied until Tatum hit his last three of the game.
Statistician Dick Lipe confirmed that Tatum surpassed Bryant once the former hit it. Tatum scored two more to put himself further ahead.
Tatum not only surpassed one of the best players in NBA history by doing this, but he also surpassed his idol. Tatum grew up rooting for Bryant during his playing days, and he’s gone on the record talking about how big of an influence Bryant had on him as a player.
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Bryant also had an extra year on Tatum, who came straight out of high school like James. If the Celtics advance, Tatum will have the opportunity to surpass James, too.
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