Jayson Tatum getting out of his shooting misery from the 3-point line led Boston Celtics to a victory with a 51-point game.
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Washington Wizards having a 23-23 record welcomed Boston Celtics (23-24) in Capital One Arena on Sunday looking to save themselves from 3rd straight loss at home.
But it turned out to be the Celtics who would climb their way back to the .500 mark behind Jayson Tatum’s 51 points. C’s forward did something on the night that no Celtics has ever done.
The 23-year-old in just his 5th season has broken the franchise record for most 50-point games (5), crossing Larry Bird (4) in the process.
This wonderful performance came behind a shooting slump of 5 games that started in the loss against the Philadelphia 76ers last week.
Jayson Tatum’s getting out of his slump was prophesized
Nothing gives more pleasure to the basketball fanatics as well as experts than their prophecies coming true. Well, maybe, their team winning a championship does, but it’s close. Max Lederman, a content creator for NBCSports Boston, tweeted this out before the game.
Tatum shooting 18-of-28 from the field, made 9 pointers from downtown, 2 more than his last 7 games combined. He shot 0-for-17 from beyond the arc in his previous three games.
The 2-time All-Star looked like he’d cross his career-best 60 points as he scored 48 in the first three quarters, but going 0-3 from the field to close out the third changed his mind. He saw out the first few minutes of the fourth pass by as his team was cruising past the Wizards for a 30-point victory.
Tatum then came back to complete his half-century in points with over 7 minutes left in the clock and finished the game with 51 points, 10 boards, and 7 assists, coming close to another Larry legend’s record.
The Celtics finished the game 116-87 to stay in the play-in spot, had they lost, it would have been the Wizards who would be sitting at the 8th spot.
