NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CELTICS VS. HEAT

May 27, 2022

Jayson Tatum

Boston Celtics

Game 6: Postgame

Heat 111, Celtics 103

Q. One shot in the fourth quarter, what happened? What was the defense doing to you, and how can you combat that and put the imprint on the game?

JAYSON TATUM: I think it's just the flow of the game, how the game was going. Obviously, I've got to watch the film and things like that, but I think being out there and just the feel of the game, drawing a lot of attention, trying to find mismatch -- obviously, find mismatches, send a double, just find the open man. I think it was just kind of how the flow of the game was going.

Q. What's your confidence level in this team that you can go back to Miami and win a Game 7?

JAYSON TATUM: Scale of 1 to 10? 10. I mean, it shouldn't be any less than that, right? You know, it's the last game. That's what it's all about. It's a 10 out of 10 in my confidence level and the group.

Q. To follow up on that, can you describe the level of hunger that you guys are going to take into that game? I know many of you want to punch through to the Finals for the first time. Just describe what you guys are going to bring into that game.

JAYSON TATUM: I mean, it's no secret. It's Game 7, trip to the NBA Finals, a lot on the line. A couple of us have been in this situation before, so we know what's at stake. We know how much this means to everybody.

We know that going into the game.

Q. Turnovers continue to be an issue, and we can say no one wants to turn the ball over, but Ime says there's just a lot of careless, unforced turnovers there. Why did that continue to be an issue today, and how can you avoid that in a Game 7 to start the game?

JAYSON TATUM: Take care -- just be strong with the ball. The unforced turnovers are the ones that are really tough. Obviously charges and things like that. But especially starting the first quarter, I think we might have had six turnovers in the first quarter. That's just not how we want to start.

Q. Was there anything you guys could have done differently on Jimmy to slow him down or was that a matter of a great player having a great game?

JAYSON TATUM: You know, we could have made some of those a little bit tougher for him, but got to give him his credit, obviously. He played extremely well tonight for his team.

Q. You spent the past couple days talking about the need to come out and have a good start and get on top of things. How disappointed were you with the way you guys were loose with the ball early and allowed them to get some life early on?

JAYSON TATUM: Yeah, that was tough. It was definitely not what we wanted to do to start the game. Just something we've got to be mindful of come Sunday.