Jayson Tatum's stats after a Celtics playoff loss are historically good

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You can't hold Jayson Tatum down for long, and the Miami Heat are finding that out first hand in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Boston Celtics forward has shown impressive resiliency during the 2022 NBA playoffs by giving his team excellent performances after a loss.

Tatum joins elite company with wild Conference Finals stat

The Celtics have suffered five defeats in the postseason so far, and they have bounced back with a win every time. Tatum is leading the way with 32.6 points per game in those matchups, which, according to ESPN Stats and Info, is the best in Celtics playoff history.

The latest example came Monday night in Game 4 against the Heat at TD Garden when Tatum scored 31 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two blocks as Boston cruised to a 102-82 win to even the series.

Tatum didn't shoot well from 3-point range (1-of-7) but he made 14 of his 16 free throw attempts and was aggressive in driving to the basket. Tatum also set the tone early, scoring 24 of his 31 points in the first half.

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The next challenge for Tatum and the Celtics is winning Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead. They lost Game 5 in their second-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks and had to win the last two games to advance. Boston had homecourt advantage in Game 7 of that series versus the Bucks. The Heat own that advantage in the conference finals.

The Celtics will need Tatum to be just as aggressive in Game 5 as he was early in Game 4 if they're going to earn a second road win in this series.

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