NBA: Jayson Tatum pours in 51 to power Celtics past Wizards
Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics reacts during the second quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on January 14, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Jayson Tatum snapped out of a 3-point shooting slump with a flourish, hitting 9 of 14 from distance en route to a season-high 51 points, and the Boston Celtics cruised past the Washington Wizards 116-87 Sunday in Washington, D.C.
Tatum came into Sunday’s matchup having missed his previous 20 3-point attempts and going 0-for in each of Boston’s previous three games. But he hit his first four attempts against the Wizards and went 6 of 7 in the first half — the last of which came just seconds before halftime.
Sunday marked the fifth 50-point-plus game of Tatum’s career. He also joined backcourt mate Jaylen Brown in recording double-doubles.
Tatum grabbed 10 rebounds and dished seven assists, while Brown finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
🔥 @jaytatum0 had the GREEN LIGHT all game long! 🔥
🟢 51 PTS (18-28 FGM)
🟢 9 3PM (9-14 3PM)
🟢10 REB
🟢 7 AST pic.twitter.com/SxRp6hNYxO— NBA (@NBA) January 23, 2022
Brown shot 4 of 9 from 3-point range to do his part in Boston’s 19-of-39 deluge from deep. Marcus Smart (11 points) and Grant Williams (10 points) each made two from beyond the arc.
Williams snagged seven rebounds to contribute to Boston’s 57-44 advantage on the glass. Robert Williams III and Al Horford each grabbed eight boards.
Smart added six assists and four steals, highlighting a stout defensive effort from the Celtics. The 87 points Boston allowed were the fewest since holding New York to 75 points on Jan. 8, and tied for the team’s fourth-lowest yield of the season.
The Wizards shot just 8 of 34 from long range and were a dismal 33 of 93 from the field overall.
Bradley Beal led Washington with 19 points and seven assists, but Beal, Spencer Dinwiddie and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope went 0-for from beyond the arc. Beal was 0-for-3, Caldwell-Pope went 0-for-4, and Dinwiddie was 0-for-7.
Deni Avdija scored 13 points and Thomas Bryant 11 off the bench for the Wizards. Kyle Kuzma finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.
