While Jayson Tatum’s bout with COVID-19 last season was well-chronicled – from his on-court struggles to saying he needed to use an inhaler – his second bout with the virus doesn’t appear to be as strenuous.
Tatum practiced Tuesday, getting in a final tune-up before his return from a four-game absence. The All-Star has been in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, last playing on Christmas Day against the Milwaukee Bucks.
This time, though, Tatum said he isn’t feeling the aftereffects of the virus as much.
“It kind of felt like the first go-round when I had it last year, how tough that was and everything like that,” Tatum said Tuesday. “But I feel a lot better with everything. My quarantine was shorter, my body feels a lot better, comparing my first couple of days back practicing than last year when I first came back. So that’s a positive sign and positive way to look at it.”
Tatum, who confirmed before the season he’s vaccinated, said he wasn’t exactly puzzled when he tested positive after Christmas. He pointed to the growing number of positive cases in the league, saying there’s always a risk playing during the pandemic. The Celtics themselves have seen plenty of disruption. The majority of their roster has been in health and safety protocols at some point this season.
Boston Coach Ime Udoka said Tatum was cleared to play in Sunday’s win over the Magic, but he was a game-time decision because of conditioning reasons. That’s a solid step, especially considering Tatum is near the top of the league in minutes played this season.
The workload has been heavy for Tatum, who had played in all of the Celtics games before his stint on the injury report. Boston went 2-2 without Tatum.
“He’s played quite a few (minutes) this year, higher than we’d like at times, and I think we can settle him back into the rotation,” Udoka said of Tatum. “Not only coming out of COVID, but also with the bodies that we have back and the full complement of players. We don’t have to have him play as long as stretches or as many minutes in general.”
JAZZ: Joe Ingles entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, the first Utah Jazz player to be added to that list this season.
The Jazz had been the only NBA team yet to have a player in protocols this season. All 29 others had one player sidelined by COVID-19 at some point in the last three weeks during this outbreak, many of them placing more than 10 players on that list.
Ingles will not play Wednesday with Utah visits Denver, the Jazz said. There is no known timetable for his return.
The number of players in the protocols has dropped considerably in recent days, peaking around 125 last week and falling to 75 — based on figures released by teams — as of Tuesday evening. The numbers change often and some players still listed as being in the protocols are closer to returning than others.
TUESDAY’S GAMES
RAPTORS 129, SPURS 104: Fred VanVleet scored 33 points, Pascal Siakam had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Toronto extended its winning streak to three by beating visiting San Antonio.
Gary Trent Jr. scored 21 points as the Raptors evened their record at 17-17, reaching the .500 mark for the first time since they were 7-7 after a Nov. 13 home loss to Detroit.
The Raptors have won eight of their past 10 at home.
GRIZZLIES 110, CAVALIERS 106: Ja Morant scored six of his 26 points in the final 30 seconds, including the go-ahead basket, allowing Memphis to extend its winning streak to six with a victory in Cleveland.
Morant gave Memphis a 106-104 lead with a double-pump short jumper, then stripped the ball from Brandon Goodwin and scored on Cleveland’s subsequent possession with 22 seconds remaining.
After Lauri Markkanen’s layup pulled the Cavaliers within 108-106, Morant made a pair of free throws to lock up Memphis’ 10th road victory in its last 11 games. The Grizzlies won 118-104 at Brooklyn one night earlier.
KNICKS 104, PACERS 94: RJ Barrett scored 24 of his 32 points in the first half, Julius Randle had 30 points and 16 rebounds in his first game after coming off the COVID-19 health and safety protocols list, and New York won at home.
Alec Burks added 14 points for New York (18-20), which snapped a two-game losing streak. Immanuel Quickley chipped in with 11.
Kiefer Skyes scored 22 points in the Pacers’ fifth straight loss. Duane Washington Jr. added 17. Domantas Sabonis and Torrey Craig each contributed 15.
SUNS 123, PELICANS 110: Devin Booker scored 33 points, Chris Paul added 11 points and 15 assists, and Phoenix won in New Orleans.
Mikal Bridges added 23 points for Phoenix, which picked up its seventh win over the Pelicans in the last nine games. He and Cameron Johnson (18 points) both made five 3-pointers, while veteran center Bismack Biyombo shot 6 for 6 and scored 16.
The Suns led by as many as 16 points in the first quarter but were up just 101-99 after Devonte’ Graham made his third 3-pointer of the fourth quarter with 6:21 left. But Booker, with 11 fourth-quarter points, sparked a 22-11 run by the Suns to put away the game.
Graham scored 28 points for New Orleans, which has lost four of five. Jonas Valanciunas finished with 25 points and 16 rebounds.