After easily beating the Brooklyn Nets in their last two encounters, the Boston Celtics finally faced an (almost) entire Nets team.
The Celtics didn't hold back, reacting with one of their best games of the season, led by a stellar performance from Jason Tatum. Tatum had 54 points - scoring his own 51 against the Washington Wizards earlier this season - in powering the Celtics to a 126-120 victory over the Nets.
The win took a good 3–0 lead after losing to the Indiana Pacers on February 27. This was a week when Tatum had his entire arsenal on display.
Jason Tatum hoisting the Boston Celtics on his shoulders
Tatum's output on Sunday was the fourth time in his career that he scored 50 or more points in a regular season game. This joins him with Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird, who has become the only player in franchise history to achieve the feat four times.
Against the Nets, Tatum was on the offensive throughout the game. He dropped three (8-15) and went up to the hoop with the same speed. Tatum was brilliant on both the open court and fed the Boston crowd throughout the game, creating one matchup after another. He was also firm on the defense, as he was developing on that end of the court.
54 points capped off an amazing three-game stretch in which Tatum averaged 41.3 points. It began with 33 points, eight rebounds, seven assists against the Atlanta Hawks, where the Celtics won nine from a 14-point halftime deficit.
Tatum was just as good against the Memphis Grizzlies on his birthday. Tatum had 37 points in a 13-point victory, including a monster fourth quarter. His performance was needed, as the Celtics played it without Jaylen Brown, who was ruled out after suffering an ankle injury in the game against the Hawks.
A solid week showed that the loss to the Pacers last Sunday was more of an anomaly than anything. And it took some true patience from this Celtics team, who don't let these sudden sporadic losses dampen them.
Playing at a high level, Tatum continues to impress and expects the Celtics to continue that momentum in the upcoming games.
Boston Celtics: The week ahead
The Celtics lead 4-3 in 2021-22 against their next three opponents. However, all three of those losses were played out without at least one player from their normal starting lineup.
Marcus Smart, who had 14 points and nine assists against the Nets to continue his contribution to Boston's resurgence, missed two games. The Browns were out for one of those losses.
Boston gets a few days off before facing the Charlotte Hornets on the road on Wednesday (3/9). The Celtics win 2-1 against the Hornets, win 11 and lose nine, a game Smart missed.
It was in early February and before the trade deadline when these teams last met, a Boston victory. The two teams have gone in different directions since that meeting a month ago. Boston was two games behind Charlotte at the time, but the Hornets have dropped to eighth place in the Eastern Conference as of late.
Next, the Celtics host the Detroit Pistons on March 11. Boston are 2-1 against the Pistons, but they have had a struggle with this young Detroit team. Smart was missing in that defeat too.
On Sunday March 13, the Celtics hosted the Dallas Mavericks. Dallas defeated Boston 107–104 in the opening match of November, a game the Browns missed. Tatum had one of his better performances in that game's opening season, scoring 32 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. Dallas has also scored a lot of runs lately. Moving on to the week, the Mavericks lead 8-2 in their last 10 matches.
There are sixteen games left for the Celtics in the regular season. At 39-27, they are 4.5 games behind the top spot, with a significant four-game road trip on the horizon. A perfect upcoming week would go a long way in cementing Boston's position as a top five team in the East. And with Tatum showing off all his prowess, there's really nothing that can be done for this Boston team hoping to raise Banner No. 18 to the Rafters.