Tatum shines as Celtics rally to cool off streaking Nuggets
Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics (Photo by Maddie Meyer / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
LOS ANGELES – Jayson Tatum tallied 28 points and 10 rebounds as the Boston Celtics snapped the Denver Nuggets’ eight-game NBA winning streak with a 105-87 come-from-behind victory on Sunday.
The visiting Celtics were fuelled by a 31-3 run that spanned parts of the third and four quarters after Denver led by 14 points late in the third.
“I think we just picked up the intensity,” Tatum said. “I think we communicated a lot better. We started switching a little bit more. I think that helped us out, too.
“That was big,” he added. “Because we could have let it get away from us.”
Tatum’s 28 points came just two days after he scored a career-best 53 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Both Tatum (illness) and Jaylen Brown (knee) were questionable leading up to the start of Sunday’s contest.
Brown had 20 points and eight rebounds, Marcus Smart and Kemba Walker scored 14 each and Robert Williams scored 10 points in the win.
Nikola Jokic had a triple-double of 17 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, Michael Porter had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Facundo Campazzo scored 14 and Will Barton had 13 for the Nuggets.
Romeo Langford hit two free throws to give the Celtics an 80-79 lead early in the fourth, their first lead of the contest.
“We just needed something to get us going,” Boston coach Brad Stevens said.
The Nuggets had five turnovers following a Campazzo three-pointer that put them up by 14 and Denver scored just eight points over the final 14:17 of the game, missing 22 of their final 25 shots.
