Celtics’ Jayson Tatum extends December’s fiery scoring form with a season-high 42 points against the Bucks
Hosting the defending champions on Monday night, the Celtics are on a three-game losing streak but they’ve got something else for themselves – Jayson Tatum’s recent tension.
The 6-foot-8 striker earned a season-high 42 points, 16 of which came in the final half as he kicked the game and led Boston to a 117-102 victory. Of the remaining 31 points, he scored 21 in the middle two quarters as Boston controlled the game by pass Milwaukee 20 (64-44).
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Tatum’s score is the highest in the game and his impact is represented by plus minus +21 over 38 minutes of action. Along with his 42, he also scored 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.
This is the eighth 40-point game of his career, tying him up with Tom Heinsohn for fourth most in franchise history.
En route to 42, Tatum knocked out seven 3-pointers, which is also the highest of the season and just one point short of the peak of his career. Efficiency must be what makes Tatum, the Celtics and their fans most satisfied from this game.
In a season where the All-Star shot his career lowest from the field (42.3%) and beyond the arc (33.9%), he scored 42 points out of 64.0% when shot from the field and 53.8% from 3 points (7 -of-13).
A huge reason for his effectiveness in this game is his shot selection. Take a look at how Tatum managed to pull off some mid-range shots while taking a spectacular shot 8/9 in paint.
This outburst against the defending champions was part of Tatum’s fiery December, where he led the league in total points, with 223 over seven games. Trae Young, the second-ranked player behind Tatum, is 39 points behind playing less than one game.
During this time, the Celtics’ defense had 3 games with 30 points (at Lakers, Trail Blazers, Jazz). During the season, he scored 11 games 30 points, tied with the most in the league (as of Monday, December 13) with Young and Kevin Durant.
