Jayson Tatum once again found himself in scintillating form, posting a monumental triple-double on Saturday night – and in doing so, joined James Harden on a rare NBA milestone.
Jayson Tatum Makes History With Colossal Triple-Double
The Boston Celtics stretched their season record to 22-6 after an impressive blowout on the road in Chicago, sweeping aside the Bulls with a 25-point winning margin.
It leaves them in a cushty position just behind the Cavaliers heading into the Christmas slate, which sees them up against the 76ers and a mouth-watering clash with the Magic.
It was – once again – the Jayson Tatum show on Saturday night as the Boston forward posted his highest total of the season, bumping his average up to just over 28 in the process.
NBA sportsbooks now have Tatum amongst the favorites for MVP, just behind the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic.
Tatum was by far and away the best player on a relentless night of points scoring for the visitors, putting up a triple-double of 43 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists.
He was particularly fruitful from the field, shooting 16-for-24 and 9-for-15 on 3-pointers.
In doing so he etched himself into the history books in more ways than one; first of all becoming the first Celtics player ever to hit those level of metrics as part of a triple-double display.
According to NBC’s Dick Lipe, Tatum also became just the second player in NBA history to post a triple-double with at least 40 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists and nine scores from beyond the arc.
The only other player to achieve that feat is James Harden, who put up 53 points, 16 rebounds and 17 assists on December 31st, 2016.
Speaking after the game, Tatum was clearly feeling buoyed by another irresistible performance. He said: “Some nights, you just feel really good.
“Shots going in. The ball is hot. You’re in the right spots. The big guys, they did a great job of screening. We got guys who space the ball, so if you help too much, I kick it out. If you don’t, then I get to do my thing.”
