Jayson Tatum wasn't necessarily himself against the Indiana Pacers during Thursday night's overtime victory. However, he did provide a comical explanation for why that was the case.
The Boston Celtics star, fresh off his MVP-winning night at the NBA All-Star Game, was far from what he was against the league's best in Utah. And it resulted in an off-brand night for the league MVP contender against a subpar Pacers team who can't keep a .500 record in place this season.
So, what happened?
Well, Tatum explained it pretty simply and beat all the know-it-all online trolls to the punch.
"I left all my shooting in Utah," Tatum told reporters, per NBC Sports Boston video. "Still drunk from vacation. That's how I played tonight. A good stat line but really not a really good game. But just glad we won and just tried to find ways to make plays on both ends so we could win and everybody feel better about themselves."
Tatum notched his fifth performance of at least 30 points, but he also shot an uncharacteristic 9-of-25 from the field, only knocking down 3-of-12 3-point attempts in 42 minutes played, which was his most time on the floor since Jan. 28 against the Los Angeles Lakers (47 minutes). He also collected 12 rebounds to notch his 23rd double-double of the season along with recording seven assists.
But Tatum's off night didn't result in Boston making its way into the loss column as the Celtics maintained their league-best standing at 43-17 following the win. Perhaps Friday's day off is all the 24-year-old All-Star will need in order to get back into his usual dominant form on the court.
With victories in six of their last seven games, the Celtics will next get set to square off against the rival Philadelphia 76ers on the road. Tipoff from Wells Fargo Center on Saturday is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET.
