Jayson Tatum Joins Pair Of Celtics Legends With 5th Straight Game Of At Least 32 Points
BOSTON (CBS) -- The legend of Jayson Tatum continues to grow. The Boston forward is on an absolute tear lately, and he became part of Celtics history with another monster game Wednesday night against the Cavaliers.
Tatum returned from an illness to score 32 points in Boston's 112-106 win in Cleveland, the fifth straight game that he's scored at least 32 points. His current hot streak has him in some great company in Celtics history.
Tatum now joins Boston legends Larry Bird and John Havlicek as the only Celtics players to score at least 32 points in five straight games. Anytime you can be mentioned in the same sentence as Larry Legend and the great Hondo, you know you've done something pretty amazing.
Of course, regular season accolades will only get you so far. Tatum has to add some championship hardware to his name if he wants to go down in the same breathe as Bird (a three-time champ) and Hondo (eight titles in his days with the Celtics). But the run that Tatum has been on over the last month is a great start for the 22-year-old.
Tatum, fresh off of being named Eastern Conference Player of the Month on Tuesday, has now scored at least 30 points in eight of his last 11 games. He's hit the 30-point mark 12 times this season, with Boston going 10-2 in those contests.
Wednesday night wasn't Tatum's most efficient night, as he hit just 11 of his 24 shots against the Cavaliers, but that's what happens when you're constantly double-teamed. Tatum was efficient from long distance, draining five of his 10 attempts from three-point land. He also had nine rebounds, just missing out on his 11th double-double of the season, and added six helpers in the victory.
For the season, Tatum is averaging 23.6 points per game off 45 percent shooting to go with 7.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists. He will look to keep his scoring streak going Friday night when the Celtics host the Utah Jazz at TD Garden.
