Jayson Tatum joins Larry Bird in the Celtics’ history books after the loss to the Hornets

Jayson Tatum joins Larry Bird in the Celtics’ history books after the loss to the Hornets originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics ended their four-game road trip with one 121-118 overtime loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night, bringing the season’s mark to 11-3. In the loss, C’s forward Jayson Tatum made franchise history by becoming the second player in Celtics history to record at least 45 points, 13 rebounds and six assists in a game.

Following in the footsteps of Larry Bird, who achieved that stat four times in his 13 years with the Celtics, Tatum scored a season-high 45 points on 15-of-28 shooting, shooting efficiently 7-of-15 from distance. In his 44 minutes of play, Tatum was the team’s bright spot in its third loss of the year.

Playing without Al Horford and Derrick White, Tatum also led the team in rebounds and assists with 13 and six, respectively. Tatum’s contributions on the boards were much needed; Rebounding was a struggle for the entire team as they were outrebounded by Charlotte 57-48.

Ball movement was a struggle for Boston and the team only recorded 19 assists compared to their season average of 24.5. Assists have been a low point for the Celtic offense all season, as they rank 27th among all teams in this category. Tatum showed improvement during Monday night’s loss with six assists, surpassing his season average of 4.1 assists per game.

The Celtics’ loss comes after a long road trip and the second straight night without two key players in Horford and White. It was also Boston’s first trip to overtime this season, so you can be sure Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla will be taking notes on how to improve in OT going forward.

Instead of lamenting the loss, Celtics fans can rejoice in their star player’s historic performance and look forward to taking on an Eastern Conference contender, the Milwaukee Bucks, at home on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET.