The Boston Celtics beat the Brooklyn Nets 126-120 at TD Garden. Author of 54 points Jayson Tatum carried his team and dominated his duel with Kevin Durant (37 points).
While the Celtics have completely transformed their season in recent weeks (10 wins in February), one doubt persisted: the lack of wins once morest teams playing at the top of the table. It wasn’t that Monday morning when the Brooklyn Nets rolled into the TD Garden where Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were playing together for only the fourth time this season.
An impregnable Tatum…
But if Durant lived up to his reputation, Jayson Tatum was even better. The 24-year-old superstar scored 54 points – his fourth career 50-point regular season game, tying Larry Bird for the most points in Celtics franchise history – to surpass Durant and Irving and lead Boston to a 126-120 victory giving the Celtics their 14th victory in their last 16 games and continuing their rapid rise as an Eastern Conference contender.
“As a competitor, every night, but especially in games like this, when you’re on one of the best teams in the league with two of the best players, as a competitor, that’s the kind of moments you dreamed of and looked forward to as a child”Tatum said following finishing with 54 points – including 34 in the second half (16 of 30 shooting, 8 of 15 3-pointers and 14 of 17 from the foul line, as well as 5 rebounds and 3 assists ). “When these opportunities arise, you try to make the most of them.” the Celtics strongman said following the game.
Tatum did just that on Sunday, putting on one of the best games of his career to lead Boston past a Nets team that has lost 17 of its last 20 games — but in just one of those games, the one from Sunday, Brooklyn had Durant and Irving on the court. Durant was spectacular, with 37 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 blocks (although he had 7 turnovers), while Irving scored 19 points on 18 shots and was booed mercilessly as soon as he touched the ball.
Who changed his way of playing
Tatum, meanwhile, nearly matched them single-handedly, scoring across the board. Part of that is because Boston’s level of play has risen in recent weeks, as has Tatum’s. During Boston’s winning streak, Tatum’s assist tally has increased by more than one per game, and although he only had three on Sunday, teammate Marcus Smart applauded Tatum for how his game has developed, and said he’s noticed Tatum playing smarter in recent weeks – and that’s translated into more success for the team.
“He stopped trying to force things and get the right read, making the game easy for him,” Smart said. “He saved his energy and didn’t try to thwart every double attack that came his way, which allows him to do what he does late in the game. He has the legs at the end of the fourth quarter to take control of games and that’s what it’s all regarding. When you’re a great player, that’s what it’s all regarding, having those legs in the decisive moments to be able to do it. To achieve this, you have to involve all the other players and choose your positions wisely. He’s doing a great job on that, him and Jaylen. They both do it and that’s why we do what we do.”
Ahead of Sunday’s game, Celtics coach Ime Udoka stressed how difficult the challenge of stopping Brooklyn would be for his team. Boston entered Sunday with the best defense in the NBA by possession. The Celtics’ usual plan of pushing teams into isolation situations was going to be complicated due to the presence of two of the league’s best isolation scorers in Durant and Irving.
Instead, the Celtics knew they had to win this game with offense. And, thanks to Tatum on fire from start to finish – he scored nine, 11, 16 and 18 in each of four quarters – paired with the rest of the Celtics who shot a total of 9 of 21 from 3-point range. , Boston was able to dominate the New York franchise.
“Obviously someone like me or [Jaylen] can have nights like this”, Tatum said. “And it’s contagious when guys make shots, spread the wealth and make the extra pass, drive and shoot. The fact of having these open eyes and seeing them come in opens the doors for us. We know how tough we can be on defense. When we have the same energy in attack, we will be really special” he added.
The Celtics on their way to the top
The Celtics completely reversed the script of their season and stormed the Eastern Conference standings, to the point of now being firmly entrenched in fifth place, 1½ games behind the second place Philadelphia 76ers. Until last week, Boston has done so mostly once morest bottom-ranked and/or injured opponents. This week, however, the Celtics got rid of the Hawks (with Brown barely playing following injuring his ankle in the opening minutes of the game), the Memphis Grizzlies (with Brown not playing at all), then from Durant and Irving on Sunday.
And, as Tatum showed on Sunday, with the way the Celtics play, they can, individually and as a group, take on anyone and come out on top. “This is the time when you start to prepare, to tighten up the details, to form those habits, to prepare for the playoffs”Brown said. “It’s the platform we want to be on. The more the days pass, the more the concentration and the intensity are important. For our group, it’s regarding trying to improve with every game. And that’s what we’ve been doing all season. It didn’t start like that. It was off to a bad start, but it’s a marathon, not a sprint. So I’m happy that our guys have stayed the course, because I think we haven’t reached our peak yet.
Nicolas Depres
