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Jamal CollierESPN
Boston — Jason Tatum Scored 41 points, including 20 in the 3rd quarter, to beat the Boston Celtics. 139-118 win Featuring two teams with the best records in the league, surpassing the Milwaukee Bucks, the Marquee Christmas Day matchup turned into a blast.
Boston maintained a one-point lead going into halftime before Tatum’s scoring outburst extended their advantage in the third. He stayed on the court the entire time, shooting 7/10 from the field with 4 rebounds, 2 assists and no turnovers.
Boston beat Milwaukee 38-25 in the third round, and the Celtics’ 139 points were the most by any team on Christmas Day since 1983.
“It’s fun. It’s fun to play on national TV. It’s fun to play at Christmas,” Tatum said. “And those matches are fun. You can play against other best players and it just raises your level of play. Competition is exciting, but it’s the game you live in. Moments, If you don’t wake up to those games, you’re probably in the wrong profession. “
The Celtics-Bucks showdown was a rematch of last year’s Christmas Day meeting, with the Bucks winning despite both Tatum and Celtics having a 25-point game. Jalen BrownSunday also marked the first time these two teams have faced off since Boston dominated the seventh game at home in last year’s seven-game postseason series in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
The Celtics advanced through the playoffs using a formula similar to the one they used in Sunday’s win.
Celtics defense made things difficult for Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, finished with 27 points on 9-of-22 shooting. Of Antetokounmpo’s 22 on-field attempts for his goal, Boston made 16 attempts, including the help of six defenders, limiting touches in the paint and only two of eight. I didn’t take a shot.
‘A guy like that needs it,’ says Celtics center Al Horford I talked about Antetokounmpo. “We all got matched up with him at some point because he won MVP twice and was just a great player. We have multiple players who have the ability to show.”
On the other side of the floor, the Celtics aimed Grayson Allen When Pat Connaughton Repeatedly, setting up the screen to force Milwaukee to switch typically forced one of them to guard Tatum or Brown, adding 29 points on 11-of-19 shooting. Boston went 11-for-9 with Connaughton and Allen as main defenders in the second half, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
It helped the Celtics pull off a two-game winning streak after dropping five of their last six games.
“It felt good to be able to play the way we know how,” Tatum said. “We understand emotionally. It’s a long season, we’ve had some great stretches and we’re going to have some bad. But don’t let the bad snowball and we’ll get back on track sooner or later. We too. Make a shot.”
Tatum’s 41 points represent the highest-scoring sum in four games of the NBA’s 5 Tilt Christmas Day slate. He also had the most NBA players lined up for the holidays in the last 10 seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Info data. James Harden In 2018 landed 41.
It was also the second-most points scored in a Christmas game in Celtics history.
“It’s definitely an honor. I’ve talked many times about how much I love being here and what it means to play at Christmas.” , being with my family, watching all the games, and imagining myself playing there one day, now I can do that.”
