Tatum fell two assists shy of his third triple-double of the season.
Tatum fell two assists shy of his third triple-double of the season.
Jayson Tatum nearly posted a triple-double and Luke Kornet had his best game of the season as the Celtics won their eighth game in a row on Saturday, beating the Spurs 121-111.
Here are the takeaways. Jayson Tatum’s ankle looked fine.
After Tatum’s brief injury scare against the Kings, he returned to the lineup on Saturday and looked every bit as dominant as he had before he sat out.
Tatum, as he tends to do this season, worked his way into the game. He scored a layup early and buried a deep 3-pointer, but he once again looked content to play a supporting role as the Celtics racked up a nine-point lead in the first quarter.
As a game wears on, Tatum tends to wear down opponents, and the Spurs were no exception. Devin Vassell is a good defender who drew the Tatum assignment often, but he’s not strong enough to keep Tatum out of the paint, and his only hope was to disrupt Tatum’s dribble (which he did a few times). The Celtics star got downhill repeatedly, and he scored one of his better moves off the bounce in transition in the second half — euro-stepping his way to a basket with Manu Ginobili in attendance for Saturday’s game.
Tatum is playing the game entirely at his own speed. In halfcourt sets, he knows precisely what works. He’s fine spamming the same play over and over in half-court sets even if it doesn’t always boost his box-score stats, but more often than not, it does boost his box-score stats in the end. He’s fine picking up the opponent’s best player defensively. He’s fine getting out in transition. He’s fine pulling up from three.
“Just taking what the defense gives him, being proactive,” Joe Mazzulla said. “He’s doing a great job playing with pace, reading the 2-on-1s, knowing when to bait the 2-on-1, when not to. Just doing a great job reading the game, surveying the game. He continues to get better.”
We’ve said it before this season, but it bears repeating: Tatum is not an MVP candidate this year (nor should he be), but as he enters his prime, he’s showing the blueprint for a player who could mount a serious MVP campaign at some point in the future. Luke Kornet completely controlled the third quarter.
Speaking of MVPs, let’s talk about Luke Kornet.
The Celtics overwhelmed the Spurs with their size from the start of the game – Jeremy Sochan is an admirable player but no match for Kristaps Porzingis.
The Celtics’ advantage was most stark, however, in the third quarter when Kornet completely took over the game. Kornet dominated the Spurs in the paint, catching multiple lobs from driving guards.
Kornet was also able to help himself and his teammates to several second-chance points — he set a career-high by pulling down 16 rebounds, including seven offensive.
