The Celtics were fully healthy for the first time this season, at least to start the game, as Jayson Tatum made his long awaited return from a torn Achilles tendon in the Celtics 120-100 blowout victory over the Dallas Mavericks Friday night at TD Garden.
Jaylen Brown had 24 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, but it was all about Tatum, who recorded 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds and seven assists in his season debut after nearly 10 months of recovery from surgery.
"I still have a long way to go," Tatum said in his postgame interview. "But it was a really big step foe me."
In his first game since sustaining the injury in Game 4 of Boston's second-round matchup against the New York Knicks, Tatum played in five-and six-minute spurts for a total of 27 minutes.
Derrick White finished with 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting, while Payton Pritchard added 18 points, 7 rebounds and seven assists off the bench and Neemias Queta notched a double-double of 16 points, 15 rebounds to help the Celtics improve to 42-21 and win four of their last five.
Klay Thompson led the Mavericks with 19 points off the bench, while Maine native and rookie Cooper Flagg added 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists in his very first Boston appearance. Naji Marshall chipped in 13 points for Dallas, who dropped their sixth straight and fell to 21-42 on the season.
Nikola Vučević played only two minutes in the first quarter before heading to the locker room holding his hand and it was reported he had fractured his right ring finger and did not return.
Tatum missed his first six attempts, including a dunk in an effort to shake off some rust, but did score his first points on a put-back dunk and followed it with a made left corner 3-pointer to finish the half with five points, five assists and five rebounds -- as the Celtics had a 58-53 advantage at the break.
The Celtics used a 14-5 run to end the third period and to take a 90-80 lead into the fourth quarter, before the lead grew to as many as 25 in the final frame. Tatum went 4-of-8 from the field, with seven rebounds and two assists in the second half when he was subbed out to a roar of cheers and a hug from coach Joe Mazulla with Boston ahead 112-87 and 5:03 left to play.
"What I liked was his approach," Mazzulla said of Tatum's performance. "I think he had two assists, three rebounds before he even took his first shot. So I think the playmaking, but also a steady balance of the things of the process of what we need to do to win, and I thought he attacked that well tonight."
With 19 games remaining in the regular season, the Celtics are right back at it Sunday when they head to Cleveland to face the Cavaliers (39-24). ABC will have the matinee tip-off at 1:00 pm ET.
Game Notes:
Boston hit 47% from the field, including 16-of-48 (33%) from 3-point range, while the Mavericks were 41% from the floor and 14-of-35 (40%) from deep. The Celtics won the rebound battle 58-45 and outscored the visiting team in the paint 52-30. The C's dished out 29 assists on 47 baskets and turned the ball over 10 times, while Dallas had 23 dimes on 38 made shots and committed 10 turnovers.
Joel Pavón
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