Lower than 48 hours after his emotional return at TD Backyard, Jayson Tatum confirmed up in Cleveland and dealt with enterprise.
The Boston Celtics beat the Cavaliers 109 – 98 on Sunday, with Tatum dropping 20 factors in 27 minutes as Boston continued to construct momentum round their returning star.
It wasn’t excellent although. Tatum went chilly by means of the second and third quarters, lacking all six of his makes an attempt in that stretch. However coach Joe Mazzulla saved him on the ground at crunch time, and Tatum delivered, hitting a dagger three-pointer with 1:59 remaining to seal the win.
“At this time felt much more regular, simply from a preparation standpoint on this league,” Tatum stated. “It felt like being again within the stream once more.”
Jaylen Brown was the anchor dropping 23 factors, 9 rebounds, and eight assists. Payton Pritchard added 18 factors off the bench, and Baylor Scheierman was an issue Cleveland merely couldn’t remedy, ending with 16 factors and 10 rebounds on an environment friendly night time.
Cleveland’s capturing allow them to down badly. The Cavaliers scored simply 10 factors within the second quarter as Boston constructed a commanding lead, going up 56–36 at halftime. Cleveland clawed again within the third, however Boston had an excessive amount of momentum.
Donovan Mitchell, additionally returning again to the court docket after lacking time with a groin harm, dropped 30 factors on 9-of-18 capturing with 5 assists. Evan Mobley added 24. But it surely wasn’t sufficient to section Boston.
As for Tatum, the 298-day highway again continues to be contemporary. He’s on a 27-minute cap, completed 6-of-16 from the sector, and scattered his buckets throughout the sport. The rust is actual. However when the second got here, he hit the shot.
It marked the eleventh straight recreation that Tatum has scored 20 plus factors towards Cleveland, the second-longest streak in franchise historical past behind Larry Fowl, who did it in 13 consecutive video games towards the Cavs.
Tatum’s mom, Brandy, made the journey to Rocket Area to observe, stunning him with a morning textual content to say she was coming.
Boston heads to San Antonio on Tuesday.
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