Jayson Tatum’s 54 points propel the Boston Celtics ahead of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets

BOSTON – As the Celtics’ season has completely transformed over the last few weeks, there has been one lingering doubt: a lack of elite competition along the way.

That wasn’t the case on Sunday afternoon, when the Brooklyn Nets arrived at TD Garden for a matinée featuring Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving playing together for the fourth time this season.

But, while Durant was his usual great self, Jayson Tatum outperformed him.

The 24-year-old superstar scored 54 points, tying Larry Bird for the most in Celtics franchise history, to outduel Durant and Irving and lead Boston to a 126-120 victory here Sunday, giving the Celtics their 14th win in their last 16 games and continuing their rapid ascension into an Eastern Conference contender.

“As a competitor night in and night out, but especially in games like this, when you’re on one of the better teams in the league with two of the best guys, these are the kinds of moments that as a kid, you dreamed about and looked forward to,” Tatum said after finishing with 54 points — including 34 in the second half — on 16-for-30 shooting overall, 8-for-15 from 3-point range, and 14-for-17 from the foul line, to go along with 5 rebounds.

“When those opportunities arise, you try to take advantage of them.”

Tatum certainly did that on Sunday, as he put together one of his best games of his career to lead Boston (39-27) past a Nets team that has now lost 17 of its last 20 games – with only one of them, Sunday’s game, featuring both Durant and Irving on the court.

Durant was his usual spectacular self, scoring 37 points, grabbing six rebounds, dishing out eight assists, and blocking two shots (despite having seven turnovers), while Irving scored 19 points on 18 shots and was booed mercilessly whenever he touched the ball.

Tatum, on the other hand, nearly matched their scoring output by himself, and he did so by scoring at every level — from the 3-point line to driving to the rim and fouling out — in a performance that demonstrated his ability to do it all on offence.

“This man to the left was unstoppable,” said Jaylen Brown, who scored 21 points in 35 minutes in his first game back from a sprained right ankle suffered in Tuesday’s win over the Atlanta Hawks, while sitting next to Tatum during their postgame press conference.

Part of the reason is that, as Boston’s level of play has improved in recent weeks, Tatum’s has as well. During Boston’s winning streak, Tatum’s assist total has increased by more than one per game, and despite having only three on Sunday, teammate Marcus Smart praised Tatum for how his game has grown, saying he has noticed Tatum has been playing smarter in recent weeks, which has translated to more team success.

“When you are a great player, that’s what it’s about, having those legs in crunch time to be able to do that. The way you do that is getting everyone else involved, picking your spots wisely. He’s doing a great job of that, him and Jaylen. They both are and that’s the reason why we are doing what we are doing. That’s good players that get us going on the offensive end, making sure we get great shots either for themselves or for their teammates.”

Before Sunday’s game, Celtics coach Ime Udoka emphasised how difficult it would be for his team to stop Brooklyn. Boston entered Sunday with the NBA’s best defence per possession, but fell one-tenth of a point behind the Golden State Warriors once Sunday’s game was factored in, as the Celtics’ usual strategy of forcing teams into isolation situations was going to be complicated by the presence of two of the league’s best isolation scorers in Durant and Irving.

As a result, the Celtics knew they had to win this game on offence. And, thanks to Tatum’s consistent performance from start to finish – he scored nine, eleven, sixteen, and eighteen points in each of the four quarters – and the rest of the Celtics shooting a combined 9-for-21 from 3-point range, Boston was able to do just that.

“Obviously, somebody like myself or [Jaylen] can have nights like this,” Tatum said. “And it’s contagious when guys are hitting shots, spreading the wealth and making the extra pass, driving and kicking.

“Just getting those open looks and seeing them go in, it just opens everything up for us. We know how tough we can be on defense. When we kind of match that energy on offense, we’ll really be special.”

Over the last few weeks, the Celtics have completely flipped the script on their season, storming up the Eastern Conference standings to the point where they are now firmly ensconced in fifth place, 112 games behind the second-place Philadelphia 76ers.

Until this week, however, Boston had mostly done so against outmatched and/or injured opponents. However, the Celtics have defeated the Hawks (with Brown barely playing after injuring his ankle in the first few minutes of the game), the Memphis Grizzlies (with Brown not playing at all), and then Durant and Irving on Sunday.

And, as Tatum demonstrated on Sunday, the Celtics, both individually and collectively, can go toe-to-toe with anyone and come out on top.

“This is the time to start gearing up, tightening up the details, getting those habits, and getting ready for playoff basketball,” Brown explained. “That’s the platform we want to be on.” So, as the days pass, more and more of the focus, more and more of the intensity is required. So it’s all about us in our group, just trying to get better with each game.

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