The Celtics unleashed a historical beatdown on the Heat Wednesday night, jumping out to a massive lead behind a historic 53-point first quarter, en route to a 147-129 win. Boston looked like a well-oiled machine, putting on an offensive clinic and leaving Erik Spoelstra and the Heat grasping at straws.
There were plenty of bright spots and highlights, but it’s hard to start anywhere but with the two superstars, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Brown jumped out to a hot start, scoring the first 11 points of the game for Boston, and finishing with 43 points, 7 assists, and just one turnover.
Not to be outdone, Jayson Tatum was just as impressive, controlling the game all over the court, recording his first triple-double of his short season, dropping 25 points, 18 rebounds, and 11 assists on the night.
It was an impressive team effort, and those were some incredible individual performances. To put them in context, we need to go back to the great Larry Bird, who has some historical relevance in each of the Jays’ stat lines.
Jays’ stat lines not seen since Bird
Before Tatum’s video-game-like stat line on Wednesday night, the only player in Celtics history to hit 25 points, 18 rebounds, and 11 assists in a single game was Larry Legend, who accomplished the feat on two separate occasions, once in 1982 and once in 1990.
The same is true of Brown’s incredible showing, as the only other Celtics to ever put up 43 points and 7 assists with 1 or 0 turnovers were Bird in 1988 and 1990, and Tatum in 2022.
It’s starting to get clearer as time goes on that the Jays are franchise icons, and we are witnessing them build legacies that will last for eternity before our eyes. They’re vaulting up historical lists, and any time players are joining conversations that only include the Hick from French Lick, you know they’re doing something right.
Brown and Tatum on pace for Hall of Fame
The fact that the Celtics have two players who are doing this at the same time shows just how rare and special this combination of superstars is. These are two surefire Hall of Famers, and two guys who are going to have their numbers hanging in the rafters forever.
All that’s keeping their resumes from going toe-to-toe with the all-time greats is the lack of championship equity. Luckily, they should have plenty of time to add to those resumes. They’ve already got one title under their belts, and they’re primed to go for another win this season, and hopefully for many seasons to come.
If the Jays can add a few more rings before it’s all said and done, their names will be immortalized alongside the likes of Bird and other Celtics’ greats forever.