Parquet plays: Tatum-to-Horford sets table for Holiday heroics

“Hang it in the %#@&ing Louvre.”

That was Jaylen Brown describing the artistry of Jayson Tatum. Before Jrue Holiday’s two clutch plays to end Game 3 — an and-1 to finally take back the lead late in the fourth quarter and a steal to seal it — Tatum dished his fourth assist of the fourth to Al Horford for an open corner 3.

Little went right for the Celtics in the first three quarters at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, save for Horford’s three-point shooting. The soon-to-be 38-year-old hit 7-of-12 threes in the 114-111 win — none bigger than his final triple that cut the deficit to a one possession game with just under a minute to go in the fourth quarter.

“That was pretty special,” Horford said. “He drove to the basket, he felt like he had a lane, and then — I don’t know how he got it there and he had to improvise — he just continued to make time-after-time the right play. That was an unbelievable play that he made. At that point for me, it was just take my time and knock it down.”

After turning the corner, Tatum drew three defenders. With all three barreling down on him, few passing angles presented themselves, so Tatum had to get creative.

“On a DHO, I attack downhill. I had [Obi] Toppin with me and Myles Turner. I knew Myles was guarding Al,” Tatum said after finishing with a near triple-double of 36 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists. “It’s just reads. We always talk about spacing and making sure we were in the right spot. I trusted that he was going to be there, he trusted that I would make the right read. That was a hell of a shot that he made.”

‘Hell of a shot’ for sure, but it’s also a product of the two teammates playing together in their fifth Eastern Conference Finals in seven years and on the verge of their second trip in pursuit of the Larry O’Brien. That behind-the-back pass was a spectacular play for the highlight reel, but you don’t develop that level of trust and familiarity overnight.

“He was big time for us,” Tatum said glowingly of Horford. “Whatever he does — whether it’s his leadership, his presence, hitting shots, protecting the rim — he’s the guy that keeps it all together.”

Horford joked post-game that fans will approach him and marvel at how well he’s playing at such an advanced age. After spending most of his career as a ground-and-pound big man, he extended his career moving his game beyond the perimeter and becoming an elite three-point shooter. In the regular season, he shot nearly 42 3FG% and for what it’s worth, the Tatum-to-Horford connection tied for the second most threes at 35 at a 47.3% clip.

They’re all worth three points but that last on in Game 3 might have meant the most (so far).