March 6, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) scores past Dallas Mavericks center Moussa Cisse (30) during the second quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images Jayson Tatum had 15 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in his season debut, helping the Boston Celtics defeat the visiting Dallas Mavericks 120-100 on Friday night.
Tatum, who was in Boston’s starting lineup, appeared in an NBA game for the first time since tearing his right Achilles tendon in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Knicks last year.
Boston got 24 points from Jaylen Brown and 20 from Derrick White. Nemias Cueta added 16 points and 15 rebounds.
The news wasn’t good for Boston, as Nikola Vucevic left the court in the first quarter with a fractured right ring finger and did not return to the game. ESPN reported that he underwent a medical procedure on his finger Saturday and will be sidelined for at least a month. Vucevic entered the contest averaging 15.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.
Klay Thompson led Dallas with 19 points, making 5 of 11 3-point attempts. The Mavericks were 14 of 35 on 3-pointers.
Cooper Flagg finished the game with 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Flagg returned Thursday night against Orlando after missing eight games with a left foot sprain.
The result extended the Mavericks’ losing streak to six games. Dallas has lost 16 of its last 18 games.
Tatum thrilled the home crowd by feeding Queta an alley-oop dunk for the first basket of the game. He soon assisted Brown with a 3-pointer, but didn’t score his first point of the season until a putback dunk late in the second quarter that gave Boston a 52-51 lead.
Tatum followed with a 3-pointer to end the half with the Celtics ahead 58-53. They led 90-80 heading into the fourth and another trey from Tatum gave Boston a 106-87 lead with 6:51 to play.
The Celtics led by as many as 25 points.
Boston held a 52-30 advantage in the paint.
–Field level media
