Jayson Tatum drops career-high 39 points prior to Christmas Day battle
Former Duke Basketball superstar sensation and current Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum dropped a career high 39 points in a win over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday evening.
It was overshadowed by a football Sunday, but the NBA saw one of its youngest stars drop a career high on Sunday as Jayson Tatum dropped 39 points on the Charlotte Hornets.
In his career night, 22 of Tatum’s 39 points came in the fourth quarter, as the Hornets only scored 16 points as a team in the final 12 minutes.
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The former Duke Blue Devil also added 12 rebounds, two assists, one steal, and three blocks in Boston’s 119-93 victory.
Tatum’s 12 rebounds were one away from the team high on Sunday evening as Enes Kanter grabbed 13 boards in the win.
However, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft went 15-of-29 from the field, 4-of-9 from 3-point range, and he made all five of his free throw attempts while playing a team-high 36 minutes.
On the season, Tatum has played, and started, in all of Boston’s 27 games and is averaging 21.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 42.0% from the floor and 35.6% from 3-point range.
Prior to Sunday, Jayson Tatum’s previous career high was 34 points that came in the 2018-19 season against the Brooklyn Nets on January 14, 2019, but the Celtics lost that game, 109-102.
Boston improved to 20-7 with the win and an impressive 12-1 in the TD Garden this season, which puts them at No. 2 in the Eastern Conference behind the Milwaukee Bucks.
Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics will take center stage as the team travels north to face the defending NBA Champion Toronto Raptors on Christmas Day.
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Boston defeated Toronto in the only time the two teams faced each other this season but the Eastern Conference powerhouses will get things started in the first of five Christmas Day games at 12:00pm EST on ESPN.