CHICAGO — On Saturday, more than 200 St. Louis residents traveled to watch Jayson Tatum and the Celtics take on the Bulls in Chicago, a game that resulted in a resounding 123-98 Celtics win.
It’s not the first time that diehard fans from Tatum’s hometown have made the 4.5-hour trip to Chicago to watch him play; Chicago is one of the closest NBA cities to St. Louis, and last year, a conglomerate of fans embarked on a similar trip.
This time, however, the fans who boarded the MegaBus to watch Tatum play were lucky enough to witness an all-time great performance: 43 points (16-24 FG, 9-15 from three), 16 rebounds, and 10 assists.
It’s a stat line that has never been recorded in Celtics history. (Nor in NBA history, if you count the 80% true shooting Tatum achieved). And, it’s one that fans in the United Center watched in awe.
“That hometown love — being somebody that people from back home support and look up to — means the world,” Tatum said. “As a kid, that’s all I ever wanted, was to make it out of St. Louis and inspire people back home. For them to come out and support, it means the world to me.”
The last Celtic player to record a 40-point triple-double was Larry Bird, who did so in 1992. And Tatum, who routinely references the legacy of greatness that he is a part of, said that being in the same conversation as the three-time MVP was very meaningful.
“I think Larry Bird is probably the best player to wear this uniform and anytime you accomplish something in the same sentence as him is something special,” Tatum said after the win. “Even if you never reach that pinnacle, that’s the standard around here. That’s the person I’m chasing. It means a lot to be in the same sentence as him.”
What made the 43-point outburst particularly interesting is that Tatum didn’t start the game hot — he only scored 3 points in the first quarter.
But, he added 13 in the second quarter, and 18 points in the third en route to his highest-scoring performance in nearly a year (he last exceeded that scoring total with a 45-point outburst on January 10th in an overtime win against the Timberwolves last season).
Joe Mazzulla said he found his superstar’s performance “fascinating.” When asked to expand on that, he paused.
“I say this about him all the time — because he’s been doing great things for such a long time, I still think he gets taken for granted,” Mazzulla said. “I still think his greatness gets taken for granted — because he’s done it for a long time, and it comes relatively easy for him, and we’re in Boston, so that’s the expectation.”
Joe Mazzulla on Jayson Tatum:
“Because he’s been doing great things for such a long time, I still think he gets taken for granted… because he’s done it for a long time, and because it comes relatively easy for him, and we’re in Boston, so that’s the expectation.” pic.twitter.com/YApZdeO9jb
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) December 22, 2024
Kristaps Porzingis (22 points, 7 rebounds) similarly gushed about Tatum’s impact, and agreed with his head coach that Tatum is underappreciated.
“He’s not a PR player — he doesn’t do everything just for PR,” Porzingis said. “He actually plays the right way. He doesn’t need to always score 50. He’s hungry for winning. And that’s a big difference.”
Porzingis joked that he felt Tatum got credit for some of his rebounds in the box score, before praising Tatum’s rebounding ability.
“A lot of people take him for granted… he’s able to do it all on the basketball court,” Porzingis said.
Tatum was one assist short of a triple-double when Mazzulla put him back in the game in the fourth quarter. He took advantage of the 3.5-minute stint, recording the highly coveted assist and adding three triples for good measure.
Mazzulla noted postgame that Tatum would never ask to sub back in to chase the triple-double.
“He would not lobby for that,” said Mazzulla, cracking a definitive smile. “He would not. There’s been a few times where I’ve actually not been paying attention, and I didn’t put him back in, and then afterward I had to apologize.”
Tatum, who has recorded three career triple-doubles but has fallen just short dozens of times, explained why he would never ask to sub into the game in pursuit of a statline.
“I respect the game too much,” he said. “And I feel like if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. I’m not trying to go out there and show anybody up. I’m trying to play the right way, and be the best player I can throughout the course of the game. You respect the game and it rewards you. I’ll have more triple-doubles and more 50-point games the right way.”
On Saturday, the elusive triple-double was finally achieved. And, perhaps most meaningfully of all, he was able to do it in front of a crowd inundated with hometown supporters.
