Boston star Jayson Tatum made the most of the Christmas Day national stage on Sunday, scoring 41 points, including 20 in the third quarter, as the Celtics cruised to a dominant 139-118 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
BOSTON — Jayson Tatum scored 41 points, including 20 during the third quarter, to lead the Boston Celtics to a 139-118 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, turning a marquee Christmas Day matchup featuring the two teams with the best records in the league into a blowout.
Boston held a one-point lead going into halftime before Tatum’s scoring outburst in the third extended the advantage. He stayed on the court for the entire period and shot 7-of-10 from the field, with four rebounds, two assists and no turnovers.
Boston outscored Milwaukee 38-25 in the third to cruise to a victory, and the Celtics’ 139 points were the most by a team on Christmas Day since 1983.
«It’s fun. It’s fun playing on national TV; it’s fun playing on Christmas,» Tatum said. «And those matchups are fun. You get to play against the other best players, and it just raises your level of play. The competition is exciting, but that’s the game that you live for. The moments, the matchups, if you can’t get up for those games, then you’re probably in the wrong profession.»
The contest between the Celtics and Bucks was a rematch of last year’s Christmas Day meeting, during which the Bucks were victorious despite 25-point games from both Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
