BOSTON – The construction of the dais for the trophy presentation neared completion and even as a collection of smiling, sweat-soaked Warriors bounced around it, Jayson Tatum couldn’t bring himself to leave the floor. The most successful season in Tatum’s five-year NBA career had ended with its most frustrating night: 13 points on 6-for-18 shooting in a 103–90 Game 6 defeat. As Golden State celebrated, Tatum peered up at the Jumbotron, as if to will a few more minutes on the clock.
“This is tough, getting to this point and not accomplishing what we wanted to,” Tatum said. “It hurts.”
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