Jayson Tatum hits vintage game-winner as Celtics avoid upset by shorthanded Pelicans

The Boston Celtics probably shouldn’t have needed heroics from Jayson Tatum to beat the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night, but they’ll take the win anyway.

With less than a second left in a tie game, Tatum hit a contested, game-winning fadeaway jump shot to give the Celtics a dramatic 118-116 win on the road. Tatum finished the game with 27 points on 10-of-21 shooting with 10 assists and six rebounds.

If this story sounds familiar, it’s because no player has more go-ahead shots in the final five seconds of a game since 2020 than Tatum.

Among the people impressed: Pelicans wing Herb Jones.

The Celtics were leading for nearly the entire second half, but not by enough to prevent the home team from tying the game with less than two minutes left. Jaylen Brown put them back ahead with 34 seconds left, but C.J. McCollum tied it again with a floater, setting the stage for Tatum.

The game-winner negated a huge night for Pelicans wing Trey Murphy III, who posted 40 points, one short of a career high, on 15-of-20 shooting (8-of-12 from deep) with five rebounds and four assists. He nearly led the Pelicans to a miracle win after they entered the game still without the injured Jones and Brandon Ingram, with Zion Williamson out with an illness, and then reportedly losing Dejounte Murray to a ruptured Achilles tendon, which means he’ll miss the rest of this season and likely a good chunk of the next one.

The win was quietly important for the Celtics, who are only 7-6 over their last 13 games and are battling to stay ahead of the New York Knicks for second place in the Eastern Conference. They’ll face another shorthanded team in the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.