The Boston Celtics defeat the Brooklyn Nets behind 41 points from Jayson Tatum, maintaining their NBA-best record.

The Boston Celtics defeat the Brooklyn Nets behind 41 points from Jayson Tatum, maintaining their NBA-best record.

CNN — On Tuesday, the Boston Celtics defeated the Brooklyn Nets 118-110 thanks to a game-high 41 points and 14 rebounds from five-time NBA All-Star Jayson Tatum.

With Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Kristaps PorziņĿis in their starting lineup, the Celtics have one of the top five-man units in the NBA. Although Porziņģis missed Tuesday’s game due to a lower back contusion sustained against the Miami Heat on Sunday, they didn’t appear to be having any trouble without the Latvian center.

With veteran big man Al Horford coming in at the five, the five starting Celtics all scored in double figures as they dominated Brooklyn’s defense.

Despite playing the faltering Nets, Boston was able to keep a comfortable lead throughout the game and evened out Brooklyn’s late push in the fourth quarter that would have pulled the score down to six points. The majority of the damage was done before the buzzer, as Tatum scored 31 points in the first half alone and the Celtics lead by 15 points at the break.

The 25-year-old looked to be headed toward breaking his career-high of sixty points, but he cooled off in the second half, taking just nine shots and scoring ten more points. Following the game, he said there was “no temptation” to try to smash the record.

After the game, Tatum remarked, “We’ve got a really good team where in any given possession we could have two, three advantages and it’s not just going to be me.”
“So all I have to do is realize that and that I depend on my teammates.” I need everyone, and everyone needs everyone else.

Tatum is making his way into the discussion for Most Valuable Player by virtue of being the greatest player on the top team in the league, averaging 27 points and nearly nine rebounds per game. The fans even chanted “MVP” for him during the game, even though it was being played at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

Tatum and the Celtics are hoping to overcome their disappointment of losing the NBA Finals in 2022 and the Eastern Conference finals last year, and win the franchise’s 18th NBA championship.

Following the game, Tatum’s primary goal, according to Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla, is to win. “I believe that understanding that he must perform well for us each and every night, even though it looks different every night, is part of his growth as a player.”

The Celtics, who are now leading the Eastern Conference and improved to 42-12 following the victory, are statistically the greatest team in the NBA. At 35-17, the Cleveland Cavaliers trail the leading Western team by six games in the East.