The Boston Celtics crushed the Sacramento Kings with 36 points from star Jayson Tatum on Tuesday night. The star converted 14 of 25 shots, in addition to grabbing eight rebounds.
“He just did a great job coming out of the gate,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said of Tatum.
“I thought him and Jaylen did a great job controlling the game with their decision-making.” he added.
Even playing away from home, the Massachusetts team dominated the offensive actions after the second period. On the other hand, no Kings player scored 20 points or more.
The first half was quite balanced. However, the hosts started at a better level, dictating the pace of the match. Five of the first seven baskets of the game were threes, until Kessler Edwards gave Sacramento an 11-8 lead.
Then, Domantas Sabonis dropped it at 19-14. He scored eight points in the last three minutes and the gap dropped to two.
In the second half, the hosts opened seven again, but for a short time. Jaylen Brown, with three, turned 40 to 39. Boston was leading 60 to 54 at the end of the first half despite a few lead changes between the teams.
On the way back from the break, Brown quickly scored seven points and the Celtics led by 81 to 69. Shortly after, it was already at 87 to 73. Then, Derrick White, from three, left it at 100 to 81.
At the end, in the final 12 minutes, Boston opened 20. The Kings still sketched a reaction, but the difference rose again for the visitors.
Tatum scored and the lead was 24 points. Then, after a timeout, Sam Hauser still extended to 126 to 99, with the court full of reserves.
It was Boston’s 50th win in 73 games, as the Kings won 43 of 72 games.
