Less than a week after Jaylen Brown erupted for a career-high 42 points in a win over the Memphis Grizzlies, Jayson Tatum nearly topped his own career-best with a 40-point outing during Monday’s triumph over the Toronto Raptors.
During his postgame interview with NBC Sports Boston, Tatum, who connected on 11 of 19 field goals and made all 13 of his free throws, detailed how he and Brown are pushing each other to new heights.
“We’re just trying to play off each other as we both continue to get better and grow, individually,” said Tatum. “Obviously, we’re going to be together for a while and we feel like we’re two of the best guys in the league and only going to continue to get better.”
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The NBA noted after Monday’s game that Tatum and Brown become the first Celtics teammates to each score 200+ points over the first eight games of a season since Larry Bird and Kevin McHale in 1986-87.
According to ESPN Stats and Info, Bird and McHale combined to score 426 points over the first eight games of that '86-87 season. Tatum and Brown have combined for 425 this year.
After Monday’s win, Brown was No. 1 in the NBA in points at 215 while Tatum was third at 210 (his good friend, Bradley Beal, sandwiched between the Jays). Trae Young was the only other player north of 200 points.
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Tatum sets C's record with latest 40-point performance
Tatum had already set a new career high in assists (12) on the first night of a back-to-back. After finishing just south of his career best in scoring, Tatum was asked if it was disappointing he didn’t get there.
“Disappointing?” said Tatum. "Nah, I’m going to get there soon enough.”
Before the 2020-21 season tipped off, with the Celtics clearly in the hands of the Jays now, both Tatum and Brown expounded on their desire to turn their partnership into banners.
“We’re going to be here for a while. We’re going to need each other and we’ve talked about that plenty of times,” said Tatum. "I’m excited. Obviously, he took a big leap last year. Gonna need him to take an even bigger leap this season. I want JB to be as special as he can be. He works hard at it. I got no doubt that he’s going to get there.”
Added Brown: "Having somebody that’s definitely as motivated and driven as you is dope,” said Brown. "Jayson is definitely somebody who wants to be great. Just to play alongside somebody that has that mentality is fantastic. Hopefully that translates into winning, to hanging some banners."