Celtics star Jayson Tatum declares he is back with electric performance vs. Hornets

The Boston Celtics claimed their 50th win of the season, downing the Charlotte Hornets 114-99 on Sunday at Spectrum Center, with Jayson Tatum owning the court from start to finish. Tatum scored a season-high 32 points on 12-of-23 shooting, including 5-of-10 from three-point range, supplementing that with eight assists, five rebounds, one block, and zero turnovers in 31 minutes.

The performance was Tatum’s first 30-point game since returning from a torn Achilles tendon on March 6 and surpassed his previous season high of 27 points. His eight assists also set a new season best, and he finished with a team-leading +15 plus-minus. After being stuck in a funk with a 32.8% field goal rate over his last four games and shooting a career-low 30.3% from deep this season, he finally shook off the slump with a display of long-awaited efficiency.

Tatum’s impact was immediate, scoring 20 points in the first half as Boston built a 63-49 halftime lead and stretched it to as many as 19 points. He reached the 30-point figure for the 112th time in his career while shooting at least 50%, moving closer to Paul Pierce (116) for second-most such games in franchise history, behind Larry Bird (192).

With Jaylen Brown (Achilles tendinitis) and Derrick White (knee contusion) sidelined, Payton Pritchard stepped up with 28 points on 10-of-18 shooting, along with six rebounds and six assists, continuing his strong run (25.1 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 7.3 APG in last eight games without Brown). Neemias Queta scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Baylor Scheierman put up 14 points off the bench.

The three-point stroke deserted Charlotte, who made just 12-of-43 attempts (27.9%), despite entering the game with a league-leading 1,210 made threes and ranking third in shooting percentage (38.2%). LaMelo Ball scored 19 points, and Miles Bridges finished with 14, but the team’s primary contributors combined to shoot just 7-of-27 from deep.

The Celtics have now won three straight games and will look to make it four when they next face the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, with eight regular-season games remaining.

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