Tatum scores 36 points the Celtics top Trail Blazers out west

Portland, Ore. — Jayson Tatum's 3-point practice showed against the Trail Blazers.

Tatum had 36 points, including a career-high eight 3-pointers, and the Boston Celtics beat Portland 118-106 on Tuesday night. "That's a shot I've been working on a lot," Tatum said. "When those guys are coming at you at 7 feet it makes it tougher. Sometimes it goes in, sometimes they block it."

Jaylen Brown added 24 points for the Celtics, who sit in third in the Eastern Conference behind the firstplace Milwaukee Bucks and the Toronto Raptors.

Tatum had 26 points in the second half alone as the Celtics built a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter.

The Blazers, playing without All-Star Damian Lillard, couldn't keep up.

All of Tatum's points came from the floor, as he did not go to the line once in the game.

It was the third time in four games that Tatum has scored more than 35 points, and it was his 10th 30-point game this season.

"When really good players see the ball go in a couple of times then the tough shots become a little easier," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. "He's in a good rhythm, obviously."

Brown was more emphatic about his teammate: "Right now he's playing unreal. He's playing the best ball of his career."

CJ McCollum had 28 points and 10 assists for the Trail Blazers. Hassan Whiteside added 18 points and 19 rebounds.

"We have to be better than we were tonight against teams like the Celtics to win," McCollum said. "That was the difference. They played better than us. They're a deep team. They made shots, they got stops, they ran on our turnovers and they played like a playoff team."

Portland, which went to the Western Conference finals last season, is in a group behind the Grizzlies wrestling for the eighth spot.

The Blazers were without Lillard for the third straight game because of a groin injury that kept him out of the All-Star Game. Lillard has said he expected to miss up to five games.