Celtics' Jayson Tatum Drops Career-High 60 Points in OT Comeback Win vs. Spurs

Good luck slowing down Jayson Tatum.  

The Boston Celtics star went off on Friday night, scoring a career-high 60 points in the team's 143-140 overtime win over the San Antonio Spurs. 

Tatum finished 20-of-37 from the field, 5-of-7 from three, 15-of-17 from the charity stripe and added eight rebounds, five assists and a block. Tatum's huge performance not only tied NBA Hall of Famer Larry Bird for the franchise record for points in a game, it also helped to erase a 32-point deficit. 

"I'm proud of our resiliency, our resolve, our togetherness, our willingness to put aside what happened in the first half," head coach Brad Stevens told reporters after the game. "We showed that we weren't gonna go away."

Tatum did the heavy lifting in the win and then some, though he wasn't alone. Aaron Nesmith scored 16 points and added six rebounds off the bench. Jaylen Brown put up 17 points (albeit on a woeful 5-of-24 night from the field) and hit a crucial three in overtime. 

But the night belonged to Tatum. This man was in his bag. 

It's the second game in April with 50 or more points for Tatum, who also put up 53 in an April 9 overtime win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. He now has four games with 40 or more points this season, with three of them coming in the past three weeks. 

It's been a strange season for the Celtics, who by all measures have underachieved and sit at 34-30 in the Eastern Conference, currently holding the 6-seed. But there's little doubt that Tatum is one of the game's ascending young stars. 

Or as Brown told reporters after the game, "That boy is destined for greatness."