"It’s almost child abuse at this point" - Reggie Miller drops unfiltered remark after Jayson Tatum cooks $90,900,000 defensive stalwart

Jayson Tatum had a very good night at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday against the New York Knicks. He finished with 32 points, seven rebounds and five assists as the Boston Celtics outlasted the Knicks 119-117 in overtime. His performance prompted Reggie Miller to make an unfiltered remark during the broadcast.

With the Celtics up 98-93 with above five minutes left in regulation, Tatum put the moves on Mikal Bridges, who was helpless for most of the game. "The Anomaly" made three tough jumpshots over Bridges in the fourth quarter, prompting Miller to comment:

"That's not right. That's not right. It’s almost child abuse at this point."

The New York Knicks acquired Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Bojan Bogdanovic, Shake Milton, Mamadi Diakite, five future first-round picks, a first-round pick swap and a second-round pick. Bridges was brought in for his defense but barely made things tough for Jayson Tatum.

Bridges is entering the final year of a $90.9 million contract next season, so the Knicks have an important decision to make. While his defensive performance against Tatum was subpar, he has a chance to redeem himself in the playoffs.

The Knicks could also start putting OG Anunoby more on him, while putting Bridges on Jaylen Brown or Derrick White. Based on their position in the Eastern Conference standings, the Celtics and Knicks could face each other in the second round of the playoffs.

The defending champions are second and will face one of the winners of the play-in tournament. Meanwhile, the Knicks could play the Detroit Pistons in the first round. It will be a tough matchup, as Detroit won their season series against New York 2-1.

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Jayson Tatum's 3-point shot sends game into overtime

Jayson Tatum's 3-point shot sent the game into overtime. (Photo: IMAGN)

The Boston Celtics were down 107-104 with less than 10 seconds remaining. Coach Joe Mazzulla didn't call a timeout and trusted Jayson Tatum to make the right play.

With OG Anunoby putting the clamps on him, Tatum still managed a contested 3-point shot to tie the game. The Knicks called a timeout, with coach Tom Thibodeau drawing a player for Josh Hart, who clanked the game-winning shot at the buzzer.

In overtime, the game was pretty close until Kristaps Porzingis hit a ridiculous shot from beyond the arc with under a minute left to give the defending champions a 115-112 lead. Jrue Holiday then iced the game at the free-thrown line to give the Celtics a 119-117 win in a playoff-like atmosphere at Madison Square Garden.

The Celtics have three games left on their schedule, against the Orlando Magic and the Charlotte Hornets (twice). The Magic could be a preview of a potential first-round matchup, while the Hornets might present Boston an opportunity to give their starters some rest before the postseason.