BOSTON (AP) — When Jayson Tatum made consecutive baskets to cap a game-opening Boston blitz, TD Garden was at its absolute loudest.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The wear and tear from back-to-back seven-game series seems to be taking its toll on the Boston Celtics at the worst possible time.
BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum knows he has taken his game to a new level in his fifth NBA season, pushing his way into the league’s top echelon of playmakers as the Boston Celtics’ go-to scorer.
The three-time All-Star also knows at times he hasn't been good enough against the Golden State Warriors during the NBA Finals and must find a way to elevate his play if he hopes to help Boston capture the franchise’s 18th championship.
BOSTON (AP) — For three quarters, the Boston Celtics responded to nearly every punch the Golden State Warriors threw at them.
But mistakes and an inability to beat back one final charge by Golden State in the fourth quarter cost the Celtics in a 107-97 loss in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
BOSTON (AP) — There was a time when the narrative surrounding Jaylen Brown was that he was a redundant player on a Celtics team shaping its identity around budding superstar Jayson Tatum.
Though he was a recent All-Star on a team packed with young, homegrown talent, Brown was considered by outsiders to be a potential trade chip Boston could use to adjust a roster that didn't get past the conference finals during his first five seasons.
BOSTON (AP) — Throughout the postseason, the Boston Celtics had played their best basketball away from home.
Not anymore.
Jaylen Brown scored 27 points, Jayson Tatum added 26 and the Celtics rode the energy of a raucous TD Garden crowd to beat back another third-quarter onslaught by Golden State in a 116-100 victory Wednesday night that gave them a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — If the Boston Celtics want to do a better job of protecting home court than they did in the last two rounds, they will need to start doing a much better job of protecting the ball.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The first sign Game 2 of the NBA Finals was going Golden State’s way came on the first possession.
Boston controlled the opening tap. Marcus Smart dribbled across midcourt and flipped the ball to Jayson Tatum, who quickly tossed it to Al Horford near the top of the key.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jayson Tatum found his scoring touch after a rare poor shooting night in Game 1 of the NBA Finals but it was the rest of his Boston Celtics teammates who went missing.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Brittney Griner hasn’t been forgotten at the NBA Finals.
The WNBA star has been detained in Russia for more than 100 days — wrongfully so, U.S.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — When the Golden State Warriors look at the tape of Game 1 of the NBA Finals, they’ll see both the present and the past.
They’ll see the Boston Celtics, the 2022 version.
They’ll also see a team that looks a lot like the 2015 Warriors.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — When Steve Kerr looks at the way the Boston Celtics built a championship-caliber team, he sees plenty of similarities to how his Golden State Warriors got to the NBA Finals in 2015.
MIAMI (AP) — Not this time. After being thwarted on the doorstep of the NBA Finals three other times in the previous five seasons, the Boston Celtics have broken through.
BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum wants experience to be the Celtics’ guide as they return home with a chance to wrap up their first trip to the NBA Finals since 2010.
Tatum was a rookie during Boston’s run to Eastern Conference finals in 2018, when it grabbed a 3-2 series lead over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
MIAMI (AP) — The Boston Celtics know the formula. They believe their defense, as has been the case time and again in these playoffs, will eventually wear down teams.
Hard to argue.
Jaylen Brown scored 25 points, Jayson Tatum added 22 and the Celtics are now one win from the NBA Finals.
In Dallas, Steve Kerr and Jason Kidd did not want to talk about basketball. LeBron James made no effort to hide his anger. Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics, a young father, called the news “devastating."
NEW YORK (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo, fellow two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Devin Booker and Jayson Tatum were voted first-team All-NBA on Tuesday, the first time in 67 years all five players were age 27 or younger.
BOSTON (AP) — The Miami Heat left Jayson Tatum lying on the court with a pain in his neck in the closing minutes of Game 3.
The Celtics All-Star did his part to make sure the Heat were hurting after Game 4.
BOSTON (AP) — Celtics point guard and Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart was ruled out for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against Miami, joining Heat guard Tyler Herro on the sidelines for Monday night's game.
BOSTON (AP) — Franchy Cordero hit a grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, lifting the surging Boston Red Sox to an 8-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Sunday.
Trevor Story continued his recent power surge with his fifth homer over the Green Monster in four days and Christian Arroyo added a solo shot for Boston, which posted its season-high fifth straight victory and completed a four-game sweep over Seattle.
BOSTON (AP) — The Heat were embarrassed in Game 2, surrendering home-court advantage in their blowout loss to the Celtics in their Eastern Conference finals matchup.
Miami returned the favor in Game 3, building a 26-point first-half lead en route to hanging on for a 109-103 victory despite star Jimmy Butler sitting out the second half with swelling in his right knee.
BOSTON (AP) — Bam Adebayo scored 31 points with 10 rebounds for the Miami Heat, who blew a 25-point, first-half lead and lost Jimmy Butler to a knee injury but held on to beat the Boston Celtics 109-103 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals Saturday night.
MIAMI (AP) — His team was down by 10 in the opening minutes, and Boston coach Ime Udoka was making no effort to hide his level of disappointment.
BOSTON (AP) — In the fog of the Celtics’ Game 5 loss to Milwaukee that dropped his team into a 3-2 series hole, Boston coach Ime Udoka made a prediction.
“It’ll make it sweeter when we bounce back,” he said.
PHOENIX (AP) — The NBA's long regular season can be tedious, but make no mistake, it matters.
Just ask the Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns — two teams who have home-court advantage in Game 7 of their respective second-round NBA playoff series on Sunday thanks to superior regular-season records.
Jayson Tatum scored 46 points, outdueling Giannis Antetokounmpo to make sure there wouldn’t be another Milwaukee fourth-quarter comeback, and the Boston Celtics beat the defending champions Bucks 108-95 on Friday night to force a seventh game in the Eastern Conference semifinal.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Jayson Tatum wouldn’t let it happen again.
With the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks attempting to complete a fourth-quarter comeback for the second straight game and close out their Eastern Conference semifinal, Tatum made sure the Boston Celtics instead kept their season alive and forced a decisive seventh game.
BOSTON (AP) — Bobby Portis made a putback off Giannis Antetokounmpo’s missed free throw with 15 seconds left, Jrue Holiday snuffed Marcus Smart on Boston’s final two possessions and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Celtics 110-107 on Wednesday night to take a 3-2 series lead.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry converted eight free throws over the final 45.7 seconds on the way to 32 points, leading the Golden State Warriors’ fourth-quarter comeback for a 101-98 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night and a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.