With 41 points from Jayson Tatum, the Boston Celtics defeat the…
With Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Kristaps PorziņĿis in their starting lineup, the Celtics have one of the top five-man units in the NBA. Although Porziņģis missed Tuesday’s game due to a lower back contusion sustained against the Miami Heat on Sunday, they didn’t appear to be having any trouble without the Latvian center.
Every one of the five Celtics starters scored in double figures as they dominated Brooklyn’s defense, with experienced big man Al Horford filling in at the five.
Despite facing a struggling Nets team, Boston managed to maintain a comfortable lead throughout the game and evened off a late fourth-quarter rally by Brooklyn that would have brought the game to within six points. Tatum scored 31 points in the first half alone, and the Celtics led by 15 points at the half, so most of the damage was done before the buzzer.
The 25-year-old looked to be headed toward breaking his career-high of sixty points, but he cooled off in the second half, taking just nine shots and scoring ten more points. Following the game, he said there was “no temptation” to try to smash the record.
After the game, Tatum remarked, “We’ve got a really good team where in any given possession we could have two, three advantages and it’s not just going to be me.”
“So all I have to do is realize that and that I depend on my teammates.” I need everyone, and everyone needs everyone else.
Tatum is making his way into the discussion for Most Valuable Player by virtue of being the greatest player on the top team in the league, averaging 27 points and nearly nine rebounds per game. The fans even chanted “MVP” for him during the game, even though it was being played at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
