Rarely does a 35-point performance (60.9% shooting from the field, 45.5% from three), along with seven rebounds, two assists, and three steals in just 31 minutes, become an afterthought. But that’s where we’re at with Jayson Tatum.
This has become the norm for the All-NBA wing, who recorded his 23rd 30-point game of the season, the third most in the NBA. Night in and night out, he dominates the game, and it may look different each time. Even Joe Mazzulla, who pushes back on narratives and the idea that games have to follow a certain script, couldn’t avoid it—especially in a game like Thursday night.
“I told him after the game, ‘You did your job. Your job was to score 35 and sit the fourth quarter in a game like this,’ and he did that,” Mazzulla said following the 123-105 win. “He was great.”
With Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey out for the 76ers, and Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, and Kristaps Porzingis out for Boston, Tatum was the best player on the floor by a wide margin—and he played like it.
Fresh off a day of rest, Tatum poured in 18 points in the first quarter, helping build a 14-point lead that never dropped below eight. His 15-point third quarter helped preserve an 18-point lead, giving him the fourth quarter off. He’s now scored 15+ points in 17 quarters this season, the second-most in the NBA.
And it all looked effortless. Offensively, he blew by any Philadelphia defender that tried to hang with him in space, punished them in transition, and shook them with up-fakes for easy jumpers. He finished a perfect 7-of-7 in the paint (all in the restricted area) and 5-of-11 from three. Defensively, he stayed active all game, racking up a game-high three steals.
After the game, it wasn’t until the last question of his press conference that Mazzulla was asked about Tatum. A completely dominant performance had been treated like just another day at the office for the Celtics’ star.
“I’m glad you said that because I think that’s true, and I think that’s important,” responded when asked about Tatum’s performance going unnoticed. “To sit here and have him do that and be the last question of the night kind of shows how good he is.”
He’s led the team in scoring in 36 of the 59 games he’s played in. He’s led them in rebounds 33 times and assists 28. He is one of just four players averaging at least 25 points, eight rebounds, and five assists (Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic)
While this level of performance has become the standard, it’s far from something to take for granted.
“Joe always tells me each night is solving a puzzle,” Tatum said after the game. “Tonight looked different. Playing with different lineups. Understanding that Nick Nurse and his staff do different things defensively — box-and-one, triangle-and-two – they just throw different things at you. Joe just came up to me before the game and said, ‘Yo, there’s a unique puzzle that you’ve gotta figure out tonight, and I look forward to seeing you do that.’ Not necessarily score 35 and sit the fourth, but that works too.”
As he so often does, Tatum cracked the puzzle. It’s like he’s got the answer key. No matter what defenses throw at him, he continues to make the right read, whether through passing or scoring.
It’s easy to overlook a performance like Tatum’s on Thursday night. With a depleted 76ers team (that might be tanking) and several key Celtics missing, there wasn’t much excitement about this game. Certainly, it wasn’t the matchup the folks at TNT and Turner Sports had hoped for when they scheduled it for national television.
In a game like this, it’s the unique moments that often steal the spotlight: Drew Peterson’s first NBA start, Baylor Schiereman’s best performance as a pro, arguably Torrey Craig’s best game as a Celtic, Miles Norris’ NBA debut, and even Derrick White losing more teeth.
But amid all the other storylines, the brilliance of Jayson Tatum is impossible to ignore. Night in and night out, he is putting on a show. And now, with his first game as a 27-year-old in the books, he continues to ascend to a new level—one that will only become more apparent as the season progresses.
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