After Pelicans veteran guard CJ McCollum drained a clutch floater with just 24 seconds remaining to tie it, Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum took matters into his own hands, drillin

Tatum finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds and Jaylen Brown scored 28 points for the Celtics, who forced 20 New Orleans turnovers. Trey Murphy erupted for 40 points for the Pelicans, who were without Zion Williamson (illness), Brandon Ingram (ankle), Herbert Jones (shoulder), Daniel Theis (thumb), and Jordan Hawkins (illness).

Jayson Tatum’s jumper with 0.7 seconds left gave the Boston Celtics a 118-116 victory over the short-handed New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night.

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.

Tatum had 22 points through three quarters before being held in check for much of the fourth. But the Celtics went to him after CJ McCollum’s tying basket with 24 seconds left, and he hit the eventual winner over McCollum from the left wing.

Speaking to reporters ahead of Wednesday's matchup against the Chicago Bulls, head coach Joe Mazzulla said he welcomes opponents blitzing Tatum. For Mazzulla, spacing is key when Tatum is being blitzed, and opens up opportunity for mismatches to be found and taken advantage of.

The Celtics are championship hopefuls. All the Pelicans are contending for is the No. 1 draft pick. You wouldn’t know it by watching either of their two meetings this season, both of which were decided in the final seconds.

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