Jayson Tatum is starting to look more and more like vintage Jayson Tatum.
The Boston Celtics reached a major milestone Wednesday, posting his first triple-double since returning from a torn Achilles in early March. He finished with 25 points, 18 rebounds and 11 assists in a 147-129 win over the Miami Heat.
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It’s the fifth triple-double of Tatum’s nine-year career.
Jaylen Brown led all scorers with 43 points on 17-of-29 shooting, plus 7 assists. Together, he and Tatum scored or assisted on 107 points for Boston.
It hasn’t been all good since Tatum came back, but Boston has now won 10 of 12 games with him in the lineup. Since their last loss with him, a 102-92 stumble against the Minnesota Timberwolves, he’s averaging 25.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game.
The win improves the Celtics’ record to 50-25, still good for the second-best mark in the Eastern Conference. However, with Tatum aboard, there’s no team in the East that Vegas trusts more. They’re +200 favorites to win the Eastern Conference and hold the third-best NBA title odds at +700, behind only the Oklahoma City Thunder (+145) and San Antonio Spurs (+450).