Jayson Tatum Sends Message To Janet Jackson After Celtics Eliminate Hawks

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The Celtics headed into the first round of the NBA Playoffs as heavy favorites to dispatch the Hawks, as Atlanta was listed as +650 underdogs before the showdown began.

Boston pulled out to a 2-0 lead by winning its first two games at home, and while Trae Young and Co. were able to get a victory in Game 3, they found themselves on the verge of elimination after suffering a loss in the following contest.

The Celtics would’ve obviously preferred to close things out at TD Garden on Tuesday, but they were unable to do so after their opponents squeaked out a two-point win to bring the series back to Atlanta.

That caused a bit of a logistical headache for the folks at State Farm Arena, as the venue was supposed to host a Janet Jackson concert on Thursday night.

However, Game 6 took precedence, which meant the singer pushed the show to Friday (which will undoubtedly result in some headaches for the concertgoers who will also have to contend with the traffic stemming from the Taylor Swift concert that will be held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium at the same time).

On Thursday, Boston was able to punch its ticket to the second round thanks in no small part to the performance of Jayson Tatum, who posted 30 points, 14 rebounds, and seven assists in his team’s 128-120 win.

Tatum addressed the concert situation after the contest, as he went out of his way to apologize for making Jackson push the event during a postgame interview.

Here’s what he had to say:

“Apology to the legend Janet Jackson. We were supposed to close it out in Boston, she had to postpone her show. 

I hope she sees this. I apologize for that, but we got it done today.”

The folks at Wells Fargo Center had enough confidence in the 76ers to not schedule any concerts until the end of May, so Tatum won’t have to issue any more event-related apologies after Boston kicks off its series with Philly on Monday.