Duke basketball product playing with fire while eyeing improbable

Again, a former Duke basketball one-and-done has hit the half-century mark.

Despite the absence of co-star Jaylen Brown (season-ending wrist injury) in addition to an absolutely frigid shooting night from four-time All-Star guard Kemba Walker, Duke basketball alum Jayson Tatum (2016-17) was able to lead his current squad to a win over the most menacing foe in all the land right now.

How? A 50-point outing. That’s how.

Down 2-0 in the first round of the NBA Playoffs and with no right-minded experts giving his No. 7 seed Boston Celtics any legitimate shot to climb out of the hole, Tatum caught fire and refused to extinguish the flames during Friday night’s 125-119 home win over the No. 2 seed Brooklyn Nets.

In doing so, the 23-year-old from St. Louis outscored three of his elders on the opposition who each lay claim to a “legendary scoring machine” tag:

• The 31-year-old James Harden managed only 41 points.
• The 32-year-old Kevin Durant could only muster 39.
• And a fellow NBA Blue Devil in 29-year-old Kyrie Irving put up a measly 16.

Can the younger of the two Duke basketball marvels complete the improbable?

Jayson Tatum’s 50 points marked the third time he’s reached that total this year — make that the past two months. Plus, he became only the fifth player in NBA history to amass 1,000 career playoff points before turning 24, joining Tony Parker, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James.

This latest magnificence came via a 16-for-30 clip from the field, including 5-for-11 from deep, plus 13-for-15 at the charity stripe. The two-time All-Star and former No. 3 overall draft pick also dished out seven dimes, grabbed six boards, snagged two steals, blocked a shot, and committed only one turnover in 41 minutes.

Across the regular season, Tatum’s three primary averages were all career-highs: 26.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 4.3 assists.

All of the above prompted Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens to say all of this after the game:

“He’s so advanced for 23 years old. I’ve said the word ‘special.’ I don’t say that very often, obviously. He just has a unique ability to score the ball, to slither through seams, to find angles to score, but then also he’s got the vision to make every right read. He was super tonight, but he’s been like that a lot this year. He’s special.”

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In Tatum’s eyes, it’s simple:

“I’m trying to protect home court, trying to get a win at all costs. And sometimes, nights like these are needed.”

As for the Brooklyn Nets’ thoughts on Tatum’s one-upmanship in Game 3, well, Durant respected the blazing fire that no superstar on his side could either contain or match:

“He hit some tough ones over us tonight. I don’t think he got anything easy. But for a scorer like that, once you start to see the ball go into the rim, it pushes your team to another level.”

Now, the question is whether Jayson Tatum could hold enough fuel in his tank alone to continue scorching the Nets when the Celtics try to even the series in TD Garden at 7 p.m. Sunday — and beyond.

Probably not.

Then again, how probable is it, really, for any 23-year-old to be on the verge of making 50-point NBA outings appear routine?