Jayson Tatum had a 49-point game against the Miami Heat on Wednesday, possibly making him the frontrunner for the MVP award.
The Boston Celtics won their fifth game in a row, sitting pretty at the top of the Eastern Conference with an 18-4 record. The Celtics are, actually, the best team in the NBA past the first-quarter mark of the season with a .818 winning percentage.
The Celtics, also, have someone named Jayson Tatum playing basketball for their organization. And Jayson Tatum seems determined to become the 2022-23 Most Valuable Player in the NBA.
Ask the poor souls from Miami, whose team suffered a 134-121 defeat at the hands of the Beantowners. Tatum led Boston with 49 points putting on a legendary show.
Tatum scored his 49 points by way of hitting 11-of-12 freebies from the charity stripe along with eight triples (12 attempts from range) shooting 15-of-25 from the field.
After his latest scoring outburst, Tatum became the only player in the history of the Association to record multiple games with 45-plus points, 10-plus rebounds, and eight-plus made 3-point shots (h/t StatsMuse).
Jayson Tatum torched the Miami Heat breaking multiple records and getting everybody’s attention
Not only did Tatum become a one-of-a-kind type of NBA player after his stat line in Boston’s victory, but he also turned into (at least on Wednesday and as it’s becoming a tradition on a nightly basis) a social network darling.
The folks from StatMuse had themselves a night digging for golden nuggets related to Tatum’s 49-point, 11-rebound, two-steal destruction of the Heat.
Even the very own Kevin Durant shared his thoughts on Twitter.
Former Celtic and 2008 NBA champion Kendrick Perkins jumped into the conversation, too.
Joe Mazzulla, head coach of the Boston Celtics, was asked about the presence of the Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Kate, at the TD Garden on Wednesday. He said that he “doesn’t know too much about them,” but that he hopes “they’re Celtics fans.”
It truly was a night for royalty (of the basketball variety on top of everything) in Boston on Wednesday.
A brief glimpse of Tatum’s exploits on the Celtics’ hardwood is all you need to know about who wants to snatch that MVP crown when all is said and done.
Let Prince William describe Tatum’s game.
Royal jokes aplenty on Wednesday.
Another night to remember in Boston and one more to forget by Miami’s faithful, who saw their squad drop one more game below .500 to a 10-12 record and the 11th position in the Eastern Conference standings.
Worst of all for the Heat? Boston and Miami go against each other on the second leg of their back-to-back on Friday, once more inside the TD Garden. Ugh.