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Despite being hundreds of miles away from Boston, Jayson Tatum had no trouble feeling at ease in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Friday night. For a moment, the Spectrum Center even began to sound like TD Garden.
Chants of ‘Let’s go Celtics’ began filling the arena. In response, the Hornets began turning up the volume on their signature buzzing sound effect in an attempt to drown out the Celtics fans taking over Charlotte. It didn’t work. When Tatum arrived at the free-throw line in the third quarter, he was greeted by a chorus of loud ‘MVP’ chants.
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“It definitely feels like home,” Tatum confessed after Boston’s 119-80 NBA Cup win, per CLNS Media.
Tatum found his footing and began painting his latest masterpiece early on. He scored or assisted on 30 of the Celtics’ first 40 first-quarter points, which tied Paul Pierce for the most 15-point first quarters (106) in the franchise’s play-by-play history, according to ESPN Insights. By halftime, he had reached 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 5-of-8 from beyond the arc, surpassing his combined 3-point makes from his three previous games.
If he wanted to, Tatum could’ve pursued his career-high (60 points). But instead, his night was called off after three quarters as the Celtics held a 96-57 runaway lead.
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At that point, the damage was already done. Tatum only needed three frames to finish with 34 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists, falling a hair shy of securing his first triple-double of the season. He earned a fourth quarter of rest, watching from the bench as head coach Joe Mazzulla allowed reserves including Luka Garza, Mike Conley, and Ron Harper Jr. to get their reps in until the final buzzer.
The Celtics found a way to turn a trip to Charlotte into a home-away-from-home experience. For Tatum, as uplifting as the Boston fans in attendance may have been, the 28-year-old had other reasons to feel comfortable in North Carolina, dating back to his teenage years.
“I have a lot of connections here in this state, this area,” he explained. “I came here as an 18-year-old kid, my first time spending real time away from home. I was here…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/jayson-tatum-admits-charlotte-feels-142509652.html
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Publish date : 2026-11-07 14:25:00
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