More and more people are taking note of Jayson Tatum's ascension to superstardom.
The latest subscriber, Kevin Durant, had a firsthand account of it on Sunday when his Brooklyn Nets fell to the Boston Celtics, 126-120, as Tatum dropped 54 points on 16 of 30 shooting, including 8 of 15 from 3-point range.
Tatum matches legendary Celtic with his latest 50-point game
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SIGN UP HERE Durant, who had 37 himself on Sunday -- becoming the 23rd player in league history to top 25,000 career points in the process -- couldn't help but be impressed with what he saw from Tatum, who matched Durant's career-high in scoring with his performance at TD Garden.
"He's a shot maker," Durant said. "He got some free throws there in the fourth and then he made some tough shots, some 3-point shots. He's an elite shot maker. He's been knocking 'em down, playing with confidence lately."
Tatum continues to emerge from his shooting woes earlier in the season, including one stretch where he missed 20 straight 3-point shots. Over his last three games, all Celtics wins, Tatum is shooting 52.5 percent (42 for 80) from the floor while averaging 41 points per game.
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What's more is that Tatum is performing this way against some of the league's other top players; prior to Durant, Tatum had 33 points on 12 of 25 shooting in a win over Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks before dropping 37 on 14 of 25 shooting in a win over Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies.
