Boston, MA
Matt Vautour: Jayson Tatum disappears again as Celtics collapse in 4th quarter
BOSTON — As they watched Jimmy Butler jaw with Grant Williams in the fourth quarter, the Miami players and coach smiled. Butler generally doesn’t need extra motivation to be great late in an important game. But they knew the exchange with Williams would spark him.
And sure enough, the Heat veteran was outstanding down the stretch. He was the catalyst in a surge that turned seven-point deficit at the time into a 111-105 win.
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That’s the difference between the two stars in this series. The Heat knows that it’s getting from Butler. The Celtics are still looking for something — anything — that can light Jayson Tatum’s fuse like that. For all of his considerable talent, he hasn’t been able to consistently light it himself.
In the fourth quarter of Boston’s losses in both Game 1 and 2, Tatum has yet to make a field goal. He was 0-for-3 from the floor on Friday after not even attempting one on Wednesday. It forced Grant Williams and Robert Williams to carry a share of the offensive load on Friday that they aren’t built for.
Even if he wasn’t playing against Jimmy Butler, Tatum’s fourth-quarter failings would still be under the spotlight. But Tatum’s late-game shriveling has looked that much more pronounced because Butler has been what Boston has needed Tatum to be.
Tatum has more talent than Butler, but when the game is on the line, Butler is better. Talent is getting trumped by fortitude. The Celtics have a huge mountain in front of them now. Miami is undefeated at home during the playoffs. If Boston doesn’t come back from down 2-0 – a feat only previously accomplished by 9.2 percent (33 of 447) teams, Tatum, as well as Joe Mazzulla are going to get the blame.
As he warmed up Friday, Tatum wore a T-shirt that said “Humbly,” a wardrobe choice that embraced the chatter after Game 6 vs. Philadelphia. On that night, after a late scoring surge that shook him out of slump and kept Boston alive against the Sixers, Tatum said that “Humbly,” he’s one of the best players in the world.
He has the talent and the stats for that to be true. But humility isn’t helping. The Celtics need him to be an alpha. Be arrogant. Be less unselfish. His idol Kobe Bryant was one of the best players on the planet and there was nothing humble about it. It’s time for Jayson Tatum to take over in these moments, to find shots and make them.
Being perceived as a great player matters to Tatum. Until he rises to these moments, he’ll be a notch below Giannis Antetokounmpo, Lebron James, Stephon Curry and for now, Jimmy Butler.
Follow MassLive sports columnist Matt Vautour on Twitter at @MattVautour424.
Boston, MA
Teenage girl missing for weeks in Boston
Boston police are looking for a 15-year-old girl who hasn’t been seen for about three weeks.
Jasmine Lopez-Rosas was last seen Jan. 6, leaving Brighton’s Mary Lyons School, Boston police said. She’s known to visit Chestnut Hill Avenue, the Fidelis Way Housing Development, Grove Hall and Mission Hill.
Jasmine is 5-foot-4, 145 lbs., has black and blue hair and was last seen in a black coat. Anyone with information on her whereabouts was asked to call 911 or detectives at 617-343-4556, or by sharing information anonymously with the department’s various tip lines.
Boston, MA
Thompson, Peterka each has hat trick, assist for Sabres in win against Bruins | Boston Bruins
Thompson’s one-timer from the top of the slot tied it 1-1 at 13:39. His shot hit 102.28 miles per hour, the second-hardest goal in the NHL this season after his 103.7 mph effort on Jan. 6 against the Washington Capitals.
“The goals are great, the response is great,” Thompson said. “I think right after a team scores, that’s the most important shift of the game. That can dictate the outcome of the game. We’ve been on the other side of it where they score and they turn it into another one and it deflates you. So we know how important those shifts are.”
He made it 2-1 Buffalo when he finished off a tic-tac-toe passing play from the bottom of the left circle at 4:43 of the second period.
Peterka’s wrist shot from the left circle beat Swayman far top corner to push it to 3-1 at 6:32.
Thompson completed his hat trick at 3:13 of the of the third period, scoring top corner short side from the top of the right circle for a 4-1 lead.
Brad Marchand narrowed it to 4-2 for Boston on the power play at 10:13 with a snap shot from the right circle. Pastrnak had the secondary assist, giving him 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) on his eight-game run.
Peterka made it 5-2 30 seconds later at 10:43 when he pushed through the Bruins’ defensemen and scored blocker side from in front.
“I saw [the defenseman] crossing over, going to ‘Tommer’, and so I just tried to go there somehow and happy it worked out,” Peterka said.
He completed his hat trick to make it 6-2 with an empty-net goal at 14:26.
Boston, MA
East Boston highway sees 1 southbound lane reopen on Tuesday, 1 day after bus crash
One lane has reopened on Route 1A South in East Boston on Tuesday, over a day after a bus crash took down two transformers and three light poles, Boston police said in a post on X.
While one lane reopened on the highway, also known as the McClellan Highway, work is still being done and travelers should expect delays, Boston police spokesperson Sgt. John Boyle told MassLive.
The southbound side of the highway was closed after a crash around 5:39 a.m., according to Boston police.
The closure caused heavy traffic delays in and around Boston Logan International Airport and reopened to allow for traffic to leave Boston on Monday afternoon.
Several people were aboard the bus when it crashed and caused two transformers and at least three light poles to come down by 175 William F. McClellan Hwy, police said. Two people were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
MassLive reporter Charlie McKenna contributed to the reporting of this story.
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