Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum finally made his long awaited return to Basketball action, as the a Boston Celtics defeated Dallas Mavericks, 120-100
On May 12th 2025, in game 4 of the East Semi-finals against the New York Knicks, Jayson Tatum suffered a season ending injury, rupturing his Achilles tendon.
This news caused heartbreak for many Celtics fans and basketball fans at large, as the star was a pivotal part of Celtics push for the NBA ring.
After a return journey spanning 298 days, which cost Tatum the end of last season, and the first 62 games of the 2025/26 season, Tatum finally returned this morning, against the Mavericks.
It wasn’t going to be a straight forward return for Tatum, as he had to regain fitness and scoring form.
Joe Mezulla took the gamble of starting Tatum from the first quarter, and the forward looked sharp, as he assisted Neemias Queta for the Celtics first point of the game.
It was not the best first two quarters scoring wise for Tatum, as he missed his first six shots, but he grabbed five assists.
Towards the end of the second quarter, Tatum “arrived”.
He made his first bucket with a finish from close range, and then a two-pointer, to help the Celtics take a lead – 58:53.
Overall, Tatum posted 15 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists, becoming the first Celtic since Kevin Garnett (Nov. 2007) to total 15+ points, 10+ boards and 5+ assists in a season debut – According to NBA.com
Celtics’ Jaylen Brown had 24 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, while Derrick White added 20 points.
Cooper Flagg played his first game in TD Garden, had 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Dallas Mavericks. Klay Thompson finished with 19 points, and Naji Marshall had 13 points.
This was the Celtics’ 42nd win of the season, condemning the Mavericks to their 42nd defeat, and their sixth consecutive loss.
