"Didn't want to lose at home yet": Jayson Tatum recounts thinking about extending home streak to 18-0 in OT win
Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics raced to their 18th win in as many games at home this season with their 127-120 overtime victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. It marked the first time that they are sitting pretty at 18-0 at home in franchise history.
The four-time NBA All-Star led the way in the victory, finishing with a game-high 45 points, to go along with four rebounds and two assists in 42 minutes. He also drained a crucial 3-pointer in OT to give themselves the cushion to pull away for the win.
Jaylen Brown added 35 points and 11 rebounds in the win to get the better of the Western Conference-leading Timberwolves.
Following the victory, Celtics in-house analyst and reporter Marc D’Amico shared on X, formerly Twitter, a quote from Jayson Tatum, who wanted to stay undefeated at home if possible.
The 25-year-old Celtics superstar said:
"You live for those moments, you want to do whatever you can to help your team win. In the back of my mind, I didn't want to lose at home yet, right? We're still undefeated."
Apart from chalking up their 18th victory at home, the win over the Timberwolves was a bounce-back win for the Celtics after losing to the Indiana Pacers preciously.
Boston next plays on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.
Jayson Tatum's stats at home amid 18-0 run at TD Garden in 2023-24 season
Just as the Boston Celtics are rolling at the TD Garden in the ongoing NBA campaign, superstar forward Jayson Tatum is all balling with impressive stats to show for.
Including his 45-point output against the Minnesota Timberwolves, "JT" upped his scoring average at home turf to 27.8 points.
The former Duke player has also been good for 8.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 35.8 minutes in the 17 games he has played at home.
The 45 points against Minnesota was a new season-high for Jayson Tatum at home this season, eclipsing the 35 points he had against the New York Knicks on Nov. 13 last year, where they won, 114-108.
For the ongoing season, he has been averaging team-highs of 27.5 points and 8.7 rebounds. He is also dishing out 4.5 dimes per contest.
With Jayson Tatum leading the charge, the Celtics boast a league-best 29-8 record and are on track for another playoff run, where they hope to go deeper after coming a win away from making it to another NBA Finals appearance in last year’s campaign.
Who has the best home record in NBA history?
If the Boston Celtics get to sustain their winning form at home all the way to the end, they could break the all-time best record of 40-1 currently shared by the 2015-16 San Antonio Spurs and 1985-86 Celtics team.
The Spurs were the last team to achieve the feat, with NBA great Tim Duncan leading the way. They won 39 straight games before they lost to the Golden State Warriors late that season.
Unfortunately, it did not translate to postseason success for San Antonio as it bowed out in the conference semi-finals against the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Larry Bird-led Celtics, meanwhile, set the mark as they posted a 67-15 record. Their lone defeat came at the hands of the Portland Trail Blazers. But they ended their campaign that season by winning the NBA title over the Houston Rockets.