Why Celtics’ Jayson Tatum Took Joe Mazzulla’s Callout ‘Personally’

The Celtics had their worst 3-point shooting night of the season, but Jayson Tatum helped get his team back on track.

Boston edged out the Brooklyn Nets to earn an overtime win at TD Garden on Friday. Payton Pritchard and Neemias Queta stepped up in the second half and overtime, but it was Tatum who paced the C’s with 33 points, nine rebounds and six assists. It was the performance head coach Joe Mazzulla needed from his star after Jaylen Brown missed his third-straight game.

“Joe just challenged me,” Tatum told Abby Chin on NBC Sports Boston’s postgame coverage. “I wasn’t doing my part during this game. Too many turnovers, not doing my part on the defensive end, and one of those timeouts, he just challenged me. If we’re gonna do what we supposed to do, it starts with me. I took that personally. I understand it and I just wanted to do my part.”

Al Horford also spoke up and yelled at Sam Hauser during the cold stretches of Friday’s matchup. Mazzulla praised his team’s effort not only on offense but also on defense. It was that end of the floor that prevented Cam Thomas and Dennis Schröder from pulling off an upset against the defending champions.

The Celtics likely aren’t going to shoot 26.4% from the 3-point line again, but Mazzulla knows who he can rely on if his side does again.