Saturday at United Center, the Boston Celtics exacted revenge on the Chicago Bulls behind a historic performance by Jayson Tatum.
The five-time All-Star erupted for 43 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists in the Celtics' 123-98 bounce-back win. It marked his first triple-double of the campaign and the third of his career in the regular season.
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He's the first player in Celtics history to notch at least 40 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists in a game. It was the first 40-point triple-double by a Celtic since Larry Bird. Tatum accomplished the feat while shooting a scorching 16-of-24 from the floor, including 9-of-15 from 3-point range.
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James Harden is the only other player in NBA history to have 40 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists, and nine 3-pointers. He tallied 53 points, 16 rebounds, and 17 assists with nine 3s in 2016 with the Houston Rockets against the New York Knicks.
Tatum actually got off to a slow start with only three points in the opening quarter. But once he got going, there was nothing the Bulls could do to slow him down.
The 26-year-old caught fire with 13 points in the second quarter, 18 in the third, and nine in the fourth. He spoke to NBC Sports Boston's Abby Chin after the game about finding his groove.
"It's a long game. You try to find ways to pick your spots, pick your stretches, especially on a team that's this good," Tatum told Chin.
"We've got so many guys that offensively, it's just about finding your moments to dominate the game. Joe (Mazzulla) always just tries to get me to dominate and amplify my teammates and make guys better in different ways."
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla heaped praise on his superstar, who he believes still isn't getting enough recognition for his greatness.
"I say this about him all the time because he's been doing great things for such a long time. I still think he gets taken for granted," Mazzulla said. "Because he’s done it for a long time, and because it comes relatively easy to him, and we’re in Boston, which is the expectation. But it was a big-time performance by him."
The one accolade that still eludes Tatum is the NBA MVP award. Most sportsbooks currently give him the fifth-best odds to earn the honor in 2025.
Mazzulla was asked whether he feels Tatum's talents are overlooked in the MVP conversation.
"Yeah, no question, 100 percent it does," he answered. "Again, because he's been doing it for so long and he's on a really good team, and I think that hurts him sometimes. But just his ability to do what he does on a great team, I think, says more about him as a player."
After Saturday's rout of the Bulls, Tatum is averaging 28.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 5.5 assists while shooting 45.3 percent from the floor this season. He'll look to add to his MVP case when the C's visit the Orlando Magic on Monday night.
Tip-off for Celtics-Magic is set for 7 p.m. ET.
