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Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics conclude their Pacific Division road trip with the 2023 NBA Christmas Day marquee game against the LA Lakers. Tatum will play tonight. The four-time All-Star, who injured his ankle on Dec. 19 against the Golden State Warriors, missed the second game of the trip on Dec. 20 against the Sacramento Kings.
However, Tatum returned against the LA Clippers on Saturday and dropped a team-high 30 points on nine-of-16 shooting, including five-of-nine from 3 in the 145-108 blowout win. Tatum looked in good shape and is on the team's injury report ahead of the Lakers' game.
The 25-year-old's averaging another MVP-caliber year, averaging 26.9 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists, shooting on 48/35/80 splits. He is crucial to the Celtics' hopes of prevailing against their all-time rivals on the road on Monday.
What happened to Jayson Tatum?
Tatum sustained an ankle injury against the Warriors on Dec. 19. He stepped on Warriors' rookie Brandin Podziemski's foot and sprained his right ankle. Tatum returned to that game but couldn't play to his potential. He produced only 15 points on 29.4% shooting as the Celtics gave up a 17-point second-half half-advantage in the 132-126 OT loss.
Jayson Tatum stats vs LA Lakers
Jayson Tatum has played 12 times against the LA Lakers. In these outings, he has averaged 24.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists, shooting on 50/50/85 splits. Tatum and the Celtics will face the Lakers for the first time this season.
In their previous meeting on January 27th, the Celtics emerged winners with a 125-121 in overtime after a controversial ending to the regulation period. Tatum fouled LeBron James on a buzzer-beating layup attempt, but the foul wasn't called by referee Eric Lewis.
The Lakers ran out of steam in overtime as Tatum registered 30 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and two steals, shooting 32.0%. He went 11-of-12 from the free throw line.
Tatum lights up LA as Celtics improve to 22-6
The Boston Celtics have extended their league-best record to 22-6. They are tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves as the league's best record-holders. The Celtics have been uber-efficient on both ends, leading to this solid run to start the season.
That continued against an in-form Clippers team, albeit without Kawhi Leonard. Returning from a one-game absence, Jayson Tatum made a solid comeback, dropping 30 points and four rebounds in 30 minutes. The Celtics had six players scoring in double-digits, including Tatum.
They took a 17-point halftime lead and never looked back. Boston shot 52.1%, including an impressive 25-of-53 from 3-point range. It did so while limiting the Clippers to 11-34 shooting from the arc. It was a good win for the Celtics on the court where they will face their arch-nemesis, the Lakers.
