Tatum makes a statement with dominant performance vs. Wizards

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The Boston Celtics officially have earned a spot in the NBA playoffs.

After their win in Tuesday's play-in game vs. the Washington Wizards, the C's are set to face the No. 2 seed Brooklyn Nets in the first round. Washington will take on the Indiana Pacers -- who defeated the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night -- for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Williams exits C's-Wizards play-in game with injury

Here are three quick takeaways from the Celtics' victory:

Jayson Tatum made a big statement

Before Tuesday's game, Tatum was left responding to critics about his leadership style.

"I’m certain that people think that since I’m not overly emotional or do things like that, they can kind of question whatever they want to question," Tatum said. "But leadership comes in all different types of fashions, and I just do it in my own way.”

During the game, the 23-year-old let his play do the talking.

Tatum led the C's into the playoffs with a 50-point outburst, marking his third 50-point game of the season. He was sluggish out of the gate but woke up with a 32-point second half to finish 14 for 32 from the field and 5 for 12 from 3-point range. He hit all 17 of his free throws, a career-high.

"He's gonna be an MVP in this league soon," Wizards head coach Scott Brooks said of Tatum after the game.

Tatum added eight rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and a steal to top off his stellar night.

Tristan Thompson stepped up with Robert Williams ailing

Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker (29 pts) will get most of the credit for the win, and rightfully so. But Tristan Thompson's contributions should not be overlooked.

Thompson was forced to step up with fellow big man Robert Williams leaving with an injury. He did just that, putting up 12 points and bringing down 12 boards in 30 minutes. Six of those rebounds came on the offensive glass, and that made a huge difference in Boston's win.

It remains to be seen whether Williams will miss time in the playoffs. If so, Thompson will be counted on to duplicate his play-in performance vs. Brooklyn. He was signed during the offseason partly due to his postseason pedigree in Cleveland, now it looks like he'll be put to the test.

Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets await

Barring any surprises (and with Kyrie Irving, surprises are always on the table), the upcoming Celtics-Nets series will mark Irving's first game in front of fans at TD Garden since leaving the C's in 2019.

C's fans would love nothing more than to see their team send Irving packing, but it'll be an uphill battle. The Nets earned the second seed in the Eastern Conference and Irving has been outstanding, averaging 26.9 points and shooting 50.6 percent from the field during the regular season.

Plus, those other guys Kevin Durant and James Harden are pretty good too.

With no Jaylen Brown, the Celtics will rely heavily on a huge series out of Tatum and Walker. Their performance Tuesday night was a nice start, but now it's about showing consistency against the league's best.

Game 1 between Boston and Brooklyn is scheduled for Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.

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