Who did Celtics’ Jayson Tatum ‘entrust’ with the online game against the Clippers

The NBA regular season can be unpredictable, and Boston Celtics‘ 117-113 overtime victory Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday night is the epitome of that. Although all eyes were on the Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jailen Brown in OT, bench guard Jaden Springer probably saved the day.

The short-handed Clippers were missing much of their roster against the C’s, like the stars Kawhi Leonard and James Harden rested and other key players such as Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac were also sitting. Boston also had several absences, including starting center Kristaps Porzingis and starting guard Jrue Holidayand yet they had the advantage thanks to the persistent desire of Tatum and Brown to play.

This sounds like a recipe for defeat, but the Clippers led by as many as seven points in the fourth quarter and eventually forced overtime. With the C’s without Holiday and in desperate need of a spark, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzula gave Springer a chance, via NBC Sports Boston.

“Joe believed in me. It was good,” Springer said of his opportunity.

How Jaden Springer Saved the Celtics?

The 22-year-old delivered a series of plays and hit arguably the biggest shot of his NBA career. With less than a minute left in overtime in a two-point game, Tatum bounced to the basket and laid the ball out to Springer, who was completely unguarded behind the 3-point line. The only “defense” LA had at that point was from Harden and Powell — and they weren’t even in the game.

A pair of Clippers yelled in Springer’s ear as he made a wide-open 3-pointer, however, he was steadfast and unafraid to shoot despite his underwhelming 3-point percentage. The second-year Celtic drained a 3-pointer, smiled at the Clippers from the sideline and put the Celtics up 115-110 with just 34 seconds left. Boston held on for a narrow victory and Springer was immediately embraced by his teammates.

“It felt great,” he said when asked about his timely 3-pointer. “(Tatum) trusted me. He swung the ball, I knocked it down and everyone went crazy. It’s a great feeling. (I had the support of my team.”

Springer’s impact wasn’t just felt at the end of the game. In the third quarter, Clippers guard Kevin Porter Jr. outplayed Boston, scoring 13 of Los Angeles’ 18 points to start the game. Then, with 4:18 left in the third frame and the C’s down by three, Springer threw in and immediately disrupted Porter Jr.’s rhythm. Just over a minute after checking in, Springer stole the ball from KPJ, marking the first of his incredible four steals.

Porter Jr. made just one of his five field goal attempts the rest of the contest – ending the loss with a season-high 26 points. Meanwhile, Springer logged 15:58 minutes during the fourth quarter and overtime, harassing Porter Jr. for quite a while.

The defensive specialist finished with a season-high eight points and two rebounds in 20 minutes of action. Before Wednesday, Springer had been on the court for a combined 16 minutes throughout January.

The current 31-13 Celtics aren’t missing any of their guys for the next game, which is primetime showdown with the rival Los Angeles Lakers. However, Springer may have just earned some minutes in that matchup thanks to his late-game heroics against the Clips.