The Boston Celtics secured their 30th win of the season after defeating the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night. The team’s stars, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown played a significant role in the victory, combining for 72 points. Brown had a season-high 41 points and 12 rebounds, while Tatum contributed 31 points and 10 rebounds.
Brown specifically targeted the Pelicans from the mid-range, crediting the extra muscle he gained in the offseason for allowing him to handle contact with larger opponents. He also expressed his intention to not settle for shots from beyond the arc, saying, “I think I can get to the rim at a good rate this year. I definitely want to keep that up.”
Celtics forward Al Horford echoed this sentiment, saying, “When (Brown) drives, I feel like people feel it. When he’s hitting you when he’s driving, that’s real. Therefore, it’s encouraging to watch him perform at that level and to see him committed to attacking the paint.
This was Brown’s sixth 40-point game of his career, moving him past Sam Jones and Isaiah Thomas for the sixth-most in Celtics history. Together with Tatum, the two wing players have become the driving force behind Boston’s recent success. The team reached the NBA Finals last season, eventually losing to the Golden State Warriors, and is again one of the best in the league this year.
In both scoring at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in the same game, Brown and Tatum became the first Celtics players to achieve that stat line since Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker in 2001. Drafted a year after one another, the two players have developed a strong understanding of how to dissect defenses.
“They continue to grow in front of our eyes,” said Horford. “They feed off each other, and that’s what really drives our team.”