The Celtics were already the best team in the NBA entering the 2024 calendar year. Now, they are getting some MVP level play from their top All-Star on the roster. Jayson Tatum was front and center on Wednesday night, scoring a game-high 45 points including 18 points in the game’s final seven minutes to lead a furious 127-120 comeback win over the Timberwolves.
“We was kind of sluggish to start the game, most of the game,” Tatum admitted. “Really, that last six minutes in the fourth and overtime we really kind of played like ourselves and that’s kind of the scary thing, where we can just, not only for 48 minutes, if we could play like that for 40 minutes, the majority of the game, how special we can be. And to really know that, for like 12 minutes of the game and overtime, that’s the only time we really played like ourselves on both ends and we still managed to win the game, that just shows that we can be a really special team.”
While Tatum turned his play on late to deliver an efficient night (13-of-26 FG, 13/14 FT), his own individual play is finding new heights in January. The All-Star has had a slow start to the year from a shooting standpoint but has found his groove thus far in January. Through the first two weeks of the month, he’s leading the NBA in points per game (35.8) while posting 9.8 rebound and 5.3 assists per game. In a more impressive development, Tatum is shooting 52 percent from the field and 56 percent from 3-point range while attempting 20 shots a game.
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“Just continue to get the shots up,” Tatum said of the strong stretch. “It’s a long season. There’s gonna be good stretches and bad stretches. Just continue to kinda do what got you here. I didn’t forget how to shoot.”
Tatum is up to 37 percent shooting from 3-point range on the year and his playmaking is earning him praise from his coach.
“The most important thing is with the ball in your hands and the spacing, making the right play, and playing with pace, playing with poise,” Joe Mazzulla said. “Don’t always have to go the same speed and tonight you saw moments of screening in the first half, moments of ball handling in the second half, figuring out what the pick and roll coverage was and then making the right play to that. I think he had a couple kick-outs, a couple pin-ins for Al where he got the corner three, so again it’s just not being defined by one thing and it’s dominating the game by understanding what pitch do I need to use this quarter, this half, this game and our guys are starting to recognize that, and I thought JT did a great job of that tonight.”
The challenge will continue on Thursday night as the Celtics match up with the Bucks in a potential Eastern Conference final preview.
“Tomorrow’s gonna be another big game, another fun one,” Tatum said. “I read somewhere that they said we got like the easiest schedule remaining. I don’t know when that (expletive) is gonna start, but it’s not right now. So we got another tough game tomorrow that’s gonna be fun and we’re looking forward to it.”
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