Jayson Tatum says he’s “a lot more comfortable” than last year

NEW YORK - Jayson Tatum had an impressive rookie campaign for the Boston Celtics last year, and he is showing absolutely no signs of stopping. Tatum led the Celtics to a 103-101 win against the New York Knicks on Saturday night with 24 points and 14 rebounds.

In the final minute of the nail-biting win, Tatum missed a dunk that would have given the Celtics a 3-point lead. He was able to grab the rebound and eventually ended up in backing down Tim Hardaway Jr. in the post. Instead of passing to Kyrie Irving, Marcus Smart, and Al Horford, Tatum knocked down a turn-around jumper to lock down the win. Irving joked and said that the 20-year-old should’ve made the dunk, but Tatum said probably should have given it up.

“Honestly, I probably should have passed it out after I missed the dunk,” Tatum said after Saturday’s win. “But I thought they were going to foul. I realized how much time was left, so I just tried to make up for it. I just missed the easy one.”

After three games, Tatum leads the Celtics in scoring and rebounding, averaging 21 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. “I’m a lot more comfortable than I would have been last year,” Tatum said. “I think it just gets easier with time and as you play more games and get more relaxed.”

Check out everything Tatum had to say from Madison Square Garden on Saturday night below: