Tatum: Celtics ‘owe it to fans’ to play better at home originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Celtics’ impressive performance on the road continued Monday night with a 103-85 rout of the Miami Heat.
After dropping 40 points vs. the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum stayed hot in South Beach with a game-high 33 points. Twenty of his points came during a thoroughly dominant third quarter to help Boston pull away.
“I didn’t play that well in the first half, so I was just trying to get myself going and get myself some energy,” Tatum told NBC Sports Boston’s Abby Chin after the victory. “I started rolling, and I felt good after that.”
The Celtics’ emphatic win at Kaseya Center gives them an NBA-best 22-6 road record this season. Asked what makes the reigning champions so special on the road, Tatum shifted the focus to having to step it up on their home court.
“We give up too many easy ones at home, so we gotta make up for it,” he said. “We need to get back on track at home because we let our fans down too many times this year, and sometimes last year. So we owe it to them to play better at home and we’re gonna figure it out.”
NBC Sports Boston’s Celtics insider Chris Forsberg laid out the C’s unflattering home/road splits before Monday’s matchup. Boston has the worst home record (16-10) among the teams with the nine best overall records (37-15) in the league. The defense entered Monday’s game 3.5 points per 100 possessions better on the road, and with a net rating a point higher on the road (+9.4) than at home (+8.5).
It’s a bizarre trend as Boston posted a 37-4 home record during its 2023-24 championship campaign. It’ll have a chance to improve those home numbers when it welcomes the San Antonio Spurs to TD Garden on Wednesday.
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Boston.
