Jayson Tatum put the short-handed Celtics on his back to lead Boston to a 118-115 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Despite missing Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis through injury, the Celtics prevailed on the road to record a third straight win over the Timberwolves.
Led by Tatum’s 33 points, eight rebounds, nine assists and three steals, the reigning champions moved to within four-and-a-half games of the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers.
This marked his 150th career game with at least 30 points which ranks fourth in franchise history, behind only Larry Bird, Paul Pierce and John Havlicek.
Tatum, 26, is leading Boston in points, rebounds, assists and three-pointers made per game this season but as per the best online sportsbooks, he remains a distant +2500 chance to win MVP.
The five-time All-Star continues to deliver in abundance with high usage, averaging 36.1 points a game in his career when attempting 25 or more shots in a game with a record of 42-18 on 60% TS.
Earlier on Thursday, it was announced that Tatum is the third-biggest vote getter in the league for the upcoming All-Star game – with his tally of almost 1.4 million trumped by only Giannis Antetokounmpo (1.7m) and Nikola Jokic (1.42m).
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla revealed postgame that Tatum had demanded the assignment of guarding Timberwolves All-Star Anthony Edwards, who finished up with a measly 15 points on 5/16 shooting from the field.
WATCH: Jayson Tatum highlights vs Minnesota Timberwolves
TATUM WAS IN HIS BAG TONIGHT 🙌
☘️ 33 PTS
☘️ 9 AST
☘️ 8 REB
☘️ 6 3PM
☘️ 3 STL@celtics move to 25-9 on the season! pic.twitter.com/Ollp4x4JKk— NBA (@NBA) January 3, 2025
Celtics remain outright favorites to go back-to-back
If the Celtics can justify market favoritism, they’ll become the first back-to-back victors since the Steph Curry and Kevin Durant-led Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018.
In Minnesota, Boston played their 15th-straight game where they didn’t have each of their top-eight players available for selection – so that offers some explanation to the slightly underwhelming 25-9 start.
That being said, the Celtics remain on pace for 61 wins this year and it’d be a surprise to see them fail to catch the Cavaliers by the end of the regular season.
