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Key Moment
The Boston Celtics threw and landed a knockout punch to the Wizards during the final three-plus minutes of Sunday’s first half. During that stretch, Boston strung together a 14-0 run to take a 60-45 lead into the locker room.
Jayson Tatum was at the center of that run, just as he was all afternoon. You’ll hear more about that later on.
Tatum scored or assisted on 12 of those 14 points by the Celtics, including the first nine of the run. He drained a pullup, canned two free throws, assisted on a jumper by Marcus Smart, then nailed a 3-pointer to account for those nine points. Dennis Schroder then got in on the mix with two free throws before Tatum wrapped the run up with another triple just 4.1 seconds ahead of the halftime buzzer.
This spurt by Boston served as a knockout punch because the Wizards were never able to get up and fight back the rest of the afternoon. The Celtics went on to pull ahead by as many as 32 points during the second half while cruising to a 116-87 win.
Key Player
There is one option and one option only for today’s Key Player. That option is Jayson Tatum.
Tatum was as good as it gets offensively Sunday afternoon in Washington, D.C., where he tallied a game high and season high of 51 points, including 31 through the first three quarters of the contest. Tatum’s scoring totals by quarter were 13 during the first, 18 during the second, 17 during the third, and three during the fourth (during which he only played three-plus minutes).
The two-time All-star also threatened for a triple-double by tying for the game high in rebounds with 10 to go along with seven assists. Maybe most impressive number was the fact that he committed only one turnover while the ball was in his hands throughout his nearly 33 minutes of action.
Tatum shot 18-for-28 from the field, including a career-high nine made 3-pointers on 14 attempts. He also shot 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.
Box Score Nuggets
- Jayson Tatum scored 51 points, while all five of Washington's starters combined to score 45.
- Tatum and Brown tied for the game high in rebounds with 10 apiece.
- Boston never trailed during the contest and led by as many as 32 points.
- Tatum and Bradley Beal tied for the game high in assists with seven.
- Marcus Smart grabbed a game-high four steals.
- Tatum made more 3-pointers (nine) than Washington's entire team (eight).
- Beal led Washington with 19 points.
- Boston made more free throws (17) than Washington attempted (16).
- Grant Williams led Boston's reserves with 10 points and seven rebounds.
- Smart, who tallied 11 points, six assists, four rebounds and four steals, finished with a game-best plus/minus rating of plus-36.
- None of Boston's starters eclipsed 35 minutes of playing time.
Quote of the Night
Jayson Tatum on his 51-point performance