Tatum scores 51 in Celtics' 116-87 rout of Wizards
WASHINGTON (AP) - This was quite a way for Jayson Tatum to break out of his shooting slump.
Tatum scored 51 points - 48 in the first three quarters - to help the Boston Celtics breeze to a 116-87 victory over the Washington Wizards on Sunday.
Tatum made nine 3-pointers and shot 18 of 28 from the field. That was after he shot 0 for 17 beyond the arc in his previous three games.
'œWhen you're missing shots, you know what you're capable of, and sometimes you've got to laugh it off,'ť Tatum said. 'œIt's as simple as sometimes you just don't make shots. You play so many games.'ť
Tatum had 31 points by halftime and reached 50 on a drive to the basket with about 4:30 remaining in the game. He added a technical-foul free throw with 3:55 to play and then checked out of the game while the crowd in Washington, which included plenty of green-clad Boston fans, gave him a standing ovation.
'œThat's an incredible feeling,'ť Tatum said. 'œSeeing so many fans on road with a Tatum '~0' jersey on - something I don't take for granted. I understand there's 450 some-odd guys in the league, and they took the time to go buy my jersey.'ť
Bradley Beal scored 19 points for the Wizards, who never led in coach Wes Unseld Jr.'s return from being on the COVID-19 health and safety protocol list. Washington, which has one game remaining on an eight-game homestand, has dropped three in a row.
Boston led 46-45 in the second quarter, but Tatum's 17-footer started a 14-0 run to close the half. Tatum added a couple free throws and two 3-pointers during that stretch and finished with 18 points in the quarter.
'œIt pretty much came down to the end of the second quarter,'ť Unseld said. 'œEssentially, that was the game.'ť
Tatum reached 40 points with a couple free throws with 4:48 left in the third. Moments later, a dunk put him even with his season high of 42 that he set last month against Milwaukee. He added two more 3s before the quarter was over, the second of which put Boston up 89-62.
'œTo Tatum's credit, he had a night,'ť Unseld said. 'œObviously, 51 points, it's a real number. I think he was 6 for 8 on pull-up 3s, which are tough shots. No excuse. He's been struggling, but he found his rhythm tonight.'ť
Tatum seemed to realize his day might be done, taking three more shots in the final minute of the third quarter, all misses. He ended the third a bucket shy of 50 and left the game.
But he came back with 7:21 left in the fourth and scored enough to surpass 50 - although he remained well shy of his career high of 60, set against San Antonio last April.
Tatum was aware how close he was to 50 when he went back in. Celtics coach Ime Udoka said that wasn't a factor in putting him in, though.
'œWe were getting a little iso-heavy, stagnant there," Udoka said. 'œWe've obviously had our troubles closing, so, get him back in and try to finish the game."
RETURN
Boston's Marcus Smart played for the first time since Jan. 10 after he went through health and safety protocols. He scored 11 points.
TIP-INS
Celtics: Jaylen Brown scored 18 points with 10 rebounds. Tatum also had 10 rebounds.
Wizards: Assistant Pat Delany coached the Wizards for one game in Unseld's absence before he also entered health and safety protocols. Then Joseph Blair coached the next three games. ... Deni Avdija scored 13 points with seven rebounds.
UP NEXT
Celtics: Host Sacramento on Tuesday night.
Wizards: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night.
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