Jayson Tatum posted his first triple-double since returning from a torn Achilles in early March, finishing with 25 points, 18 rebounds and 11 assists as the Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat 147-129 on Wednesday.
The performance was the fifth triple-double of Tatum’s nine-year career and came in a game Boston controlled behind another huge night from Jaylen Brown, who led all scorers with 43 points on 17-of-29 shooting and added seven assists. Together, Tatum and Brown scored or assisted on 107 points for Boston, a pace that left Miami little chance once the Celtics started rolling.
Boston improved to 51-25 and held the second-best record in the Eastern Conference after the win. The Celtics have now won 10 of their last 12 games with Tatum in the lineup, a stretch in which he has averaged 25.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game since Boston’s last loss with him, a 102-92 defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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The timing matters because Tatum’s latest surge has come less than a month after his return from the Achilles injury, and Boston looks nothing like a team waiting for him to find his rhythm. The Celtics were listed at +200 to win the Eastern Conference and at +700 for the NBA title, behind the Oklahoma City Thunder at +145 and the San Antonio Spurs at +450.
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For Boston, the numbers point in the same direction: the Celtics are winning, Tatum is producing across the board, and Brown is carrying scoring load at a level that makes them look built for the stretch run. Payton Pritchard and the rest of the roster may matter in the margins, but the center of gravity is still the same two-man force at the top.
