BSJ Game Report: Celtics 120, Mavericks 100 - After slow start, Jayson Tatum makes triumphant return

BOSTON — TD Garden was a madhouse on Friday night. It was the most packed it's been since the 2024 NBA Finals, filled to the brim with reporters, news anchors, and 19,156 Boston Celtics fans.

That's because Jayson Tatumwas back. He ruptured his Achilles tendon in the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the New York Knicks, but returned Friday night against the Dallas Mavericks.

After 298 days of rest, recovery, and hard work, the Celtics superstar took the floor for the first time in the 2025-26 season.

"I think there's a sense of gratitude and a sense of perspective," Joe Mazzullasaid pre-game of Tatum's return. "At the end of the day, you saw a guy at his most vulnerable state, and you're seeing that journey back. And the journey may start today, but there's no endgame to that. [It'll be] a long time. And I think just along the way, you have to have a sense of gratitude, you have to have a sense of perspective, and then you also have a sense of, just have to get back to work."

Tatum went through his pre-game routine, shoulder-bumping Derrick Whitebefore running out of the tunnel to a thunderous wave of applause from TD Garden. A wave that repeated itself a few more times throughout the night. Up until the very moment the game started, Tatum's smile never faded.

The crowd erupted again when he was announced in the starting lineup, and when he touched the ball for the first time, there was yet another roar.

It wasn't all smooth sailing. Tatum's shot was way off to start the game. He air-balled one of his first shots and came up short on a monster dunk attempt that would have blown the roof off TD Garden.

In the meantime, a solid defensive showing from White, Payton Pritchard, and the deep-bench lineup kept Boston afloat. Baylor Scheierman and Hugo Gonzalez made all their usual hustle plays, and Luka Garza, in the wake of Nikola Vucevic's exit from the game with a finger fracture, gave Boston awesome minutes.

Garza's hustle on the offensive glass was as impressive as usual, and he showed off his three-point shooting, too.

Jaylen Brownplayed a well-rounded game, hustling on the glass and dicing up the Mavericks' defense with patience and precision.

Then, just before halftime, it happened.

White got a steal, Pritchard missed a three, and Tatum was right there. He soared up, grabbed the ball, and threw it down for a put-back slam. The crowd went nuts.

After a Cooper Flaggbucket on the other end, Tatum nailed a three, and the crowd went even crazier. An and-one from White on the next possession sent them into a full-on scream-fest.

That little surge brought Boston into the third quarter with a 58-53 lead, and once the second half began, Tatum took off.

Short shots turned into buckets. Failed drives turned into tough finishes at the rim. He was on fire. Tatum ended the third with seven points on 3-of-4 shooting, including a contested corner three that, once again, got the crowd amped up.

And just as the Mavericks were fighting their way back into the game with a barrage of Klay Thompson and Max Christiethrees (combined 6-of-10 in the third), Brown was there to back Tatum up.

He dropped 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the third quarter, as Boston's dynamic duo was back in full force.

Once the fourth quarter rolled around, the Celtics left the Mavericks in the dust.

Pritchard thrived in the scoring column, scoring nine points in the first half of the quarter, and Boston's offense looked like a well-oiled machine.

When Tatum checked out for the final time at the 5:01 mark in the fourth, TD Garden gave him a well-deserved standing ovation. He finished the game with 15 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists on 6-of-16 shooting from the field and 3-of-8 shooting from deep.

Brown ended the night with 24 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, and White put up 20 points, four rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks.

Neemias Quetascored 16 points and grabbed 15 rebounds.

Big winner: It's Tatum. There's no one else it would be. Even if he had put up the dud of all duds, he was the winner on Friday night.

He could have sat out the entire season. Nobody would have blinked an eye. That's normal for the type of injury he sustained.

But Tatum wanted to come back.

"It's been a long journey, and the culmination of a new journey begins today, and it's just a credit to one, him, obviously, for the work ethic that he's put in, and two, to the support staff," Mazzulla said. "His family, and also the support staff of the Celtics, just getting to this point. So, now we start another one."

From the very moment he got hurt, he wanted to be back on the court, playing basketball, and helping the Celtics win games.

So, no matter what happened on the court against the Mavericks, Tatum was always going to be the winner.

Did it help that he was awesome? An elite pick-and-roll player, impactful off-ball defender, and, after a cold start, the scorer he's always been?

Yes. That definitely helped.

Ouch, tough one: It was a fun night at TD Garden, so instead of lowlighting anything, let's just say this was an unfortunate night for Flagg to make his TD Garden debut.

The Newport, Maine, native still got love. When the National Anthem was sung, the crowd screamed the word 'Flag!' When Flagg was introduced, he got a pop from the fans in attendance. There was clearly a Maine contingent in Boston for his homecoming.

But Tatum's return overshadowed Flagg's. Such is life.

The big picture: With or without Tatum, this Celtics team had a chance to make the NBA Finals.

With Tatum, they may be the favorites to come out of the East.

This team always had a chance to win the Finals.

With Tatum, those odds will skyrocket.

It wasn't a perfect debut, but it reminded everyone - the fans, the media, and all 29 other NBA teams - justhow good Tatum is.