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Even though he tied his NBA career-high by scoring 31 points before halftime, Jayson Tatum wasn’t tempted to chase a huge number.
He’s had big scoring nights before. He’s after an NBA championship, and can only get that with all his teammates.
Tatum had 41 points and 14 rebounds, and the Boston Celtics won their fifth straight game by beating the Brooklyn Nets 118-110 on Tuesday night in the opener of a home-and-home series.
Tatum had his 25th 40-point game in the regular season, with a career-high of 60. But after scoring 16 in the first quarter and 15 more in the second, he took only nine shots in the second half.
“We’ve got a really good team where in any given possession we could have two, three advantages and it’s not always just going to be me,” Tatum said. “So just understanding that and knowing that I need my teammates. I need everybody, we all need each other.”
Jaylen Brown added 19 points for the Celtics, who improved to 42-12 and will host the Nets on Wednesday in the final game for both teams before the All-Star break.
