Boston–the celtics has been one of the hottest teams in the NBA since returning from the All-Star break.
They can add one of the best offensive displays in league history to their list of accomplishments as they await the potential return of the star jayson tatum for action.
Boston shot a season high 66.7% (52 of 78) from the field win 148-111 Above Brooklyn Nets On Friday. According to ESPN Research, including playoffs, this was the club’s third-highest percentage in a game in the shot clock era (since 1954–55), behind 67.9% in 1984 and 67.0% in 1990.
The Celtics also shot 64.7% from the 3-point line on Friday, which equates to an 80.8% effective field goal percentage – the highest in the shot clock era. Effective field goal percentage measures shooting efficiency by adjusting for the fact that 3-pointers are more valuable than two-point shots.
all Star jaylen brown Finished with 28 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. But with the trade deadline acquisition, he got plenty of support from his peers Nikola Vucevic Added 28 points and 11 rebounds for his third double-double as a member of the Celtics.
“I thought we did a good job of reading the game,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “I thought we made the right reads for the most part the entire game. I thought Vooch looked really comfortable tonight in his offensive reads and his offensive screening. He opened up a lot of things for us.”
All 13 Celtics players scored, with Boston committing only three turnovers after halftime.
“We just try to read the game and take what we have,” Brown said.
Boston, winners of five of its six games since the All-Star break, will wait to see if Sunday night’s home game philadelphia 76ers Will mark Tatum’s return.
The game, originally scheduled to be played earlier in the day, was moved to an 8 p.m. ET prime-time slot by NBC, leading to speculation that this could signal plans for Tatum to return.
It has been 41 weeks since Tatum ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the final minutes of a loss to the Celtics in May. new York Knicks In Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Celtics are required by the NBA to release a preliminary injury report by 5 p.m. ET on Saturday before Sunday’s home game against the 76ers.
After practicing with the Celtics’ G League team two weeks ago, Tatum said he had not decided whether he would return.
“It doesn’t mean I’m coming back or not, it’s just following the plan. So it’s just another step,” Tatum said. “I don’t know the percentage. I just know I feel a little better every day. I just try to focus on that.”
Tatum said in the same interview that he was also careful not to hinder the progress of a Celtics team that is in second place in the Eastern Conference standings at 39–20.
“I’m fully aware of what’s going on. I think it stems from that. Obviously, I know what I bring to the table and what I bring to the team. But I also know these guys are playing great,” Tatum said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
