Tatum scores 41 points, shows growth
Forward adds 14 rebounds and 5 assists
The latest NBA MVP straw poll — in which media members around the league vote in an informal poll for the award at this stage of the season — was released on Tuesday morning, and Celtics star Jayson Tatum came in just sixth.
Tatum may be unlikely to win MVP, but his value and growth to the NBA’s team is unquestioned. Hours after that poll was released, he proved that again in Brooklyn.
Tatum scored 41 points — his third 40-point effort of the season — to go along with 14 rebounds and five assists, as the Celtics star was once again the biggest difference in a 118-110 over the Nets on Tuesday night. For the second time this season, he was showered with MVP chants at Barclays Center as he poured in 31 first-half points, and he was critical in the second half as the Celtics held off a late rally from the Nets.
Tatum’s performance was impactful in all areas. His shot-making was tremendous as he matched his career high with 31 first-half points, but he didn’t force his shot in the second half when he had it going, as he trusted his teammates with his continued elite playmaking to help the Celtics secure their 42nd win of the season.
“That just goes to who he is,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters in Brooklyn. “He wants to win more than anything else, and everything about that was him. That was his decision. I think that’s part of his growth as a player, is he understands that he has to be great for us every night but it looks different every night.
“The first half was true individual brilliance, and I thought the way he manipulated the defense in the second half is another sign of greatness. So his ability and character to find different ways to be one of the best players on the floor, empower his teammates and understand that in order to get to where we want to, it has to be a team, and he truly understands that, so it’s good to watch.”
The Celtics did not have Kristaps Porzingis, who sat out with a lower back strain, but it hardly mattered. All five starters finished in double-digit scoring, and the offense continued to flow without their valuable big man. Al Horford stepped in to score 16 points on 6-for-6 shooting, and Jrue Holiday had 14 points and 12 assists. The Celtics recorded 31 assists on 43 made field goals, and other than some brief, shaky play in the second half, the offense continued to hum without Porzingis.
Tatum, and a concerted effort to hammer the Nets inside with mismatches in the post, was a big reason why. The Celtics scored 20 of their first 23 points in the paint, and led by Tatum, they ultimately grabbed a big lead over the hot-shooting Nets. After the Celtics hit them inside, they pulled away as Tatum caught fire with three 3-pointers in a one-minute span — including a four-point play — late in the first quarter.
Tatum scored 15 points in the second quarter, which included several leak-outs in transition, as the Celtics built a 15-point halftime lead. They stayed undefeated this season when scoring at least 70 points in the first half.
Tatum didn’t force the issue with scoring in the second half as he helped get his teammates involved. He found Holiday for a 3-pointer on the first play of the third quarter and continued to push the offense with hockey assists as the Celtics pulled away. He then hit a step-back 3-pointer before Jaylen Brown found him for a dunk as the C’s surged to a 23-point lead.
“His growth as far as just taking what the defense gives him,” Mazzulla told reporters. “I think his shot selection has been great over this stretch. I think his patience has been great over this stretch, reading the defense, manipulating the defense, I just think he continues to get better and better as a player, and you saw that tonight.”
Mikal Bridges scored 27 points and Cam Thomas added 26 for the Nets, who didn’t quit and cut their deficit from 23 to six multiple times in the fourth quarter. But the Celtics, even without Porzingis — who they have, at times, struggled without when games get tight — had several answers. Derrick White hit a big 3-pointer to restore their lead to 102-93, and the Celtics soon pushed their lead back to 14.
Jalen Wilson’s 3-pointer cut the Celtics’ lead back to six with 2:49 remaining, but White responded with another 3-pointer. With 1:48 to go, Tatum’s layup and ensuing block on Thomas ultimately helped seal the victory.
The Celtics committed 10 second-half turnovers, and Mazzulla described some of their play in the third or fourth as “inconceivable” as they reverted to some bad tendencies. But the C’s — behind Tatum — ultimately had more firepower to hold off the Nets.
“We did score 20 points in the fourth quarter, so I thought the end of the third, beginning of the fourth … it felt like our execution was decent, we just didn’t score, kind of turned it over, had some 50/50 passes and we weren’t quick to our organization,” Mazzulla said. “We’re at our best when we’re quickly getting organized so that we can see what the defense is giving us, so it was a slow-paced effort for a little bit of that game where we just didn’t get to our spacing quick enough.”