The Boston Celtics won their first game since returning from the All-Star break, on the road in Chicago, for their seventh consecutive win of the month and an NBA-most 44-wins on the season.

Jayson Tatum finally responded to the media, specifically the shows on ESPN, that are saying he’s unable or unqualified to win league MVP due to losing in the 2023 NBA Finals. If this is the way the voters are thinking, then it’s a big problem as the MVP Award is a regular season award.

“I wasn’t saying that I needed to be first. I just had a problem with some people on TV saying that the reason why I won’t win this year is because of something that happened two years ago. That was my only disconnect.”

Sam Hauser scored 8-points on 3-of-3 shooting from the floor on Thursday in Chicago before taking a hard elbow to the face and falling to the floor from teammate Luke Kornet. Things like this are unfortunate, but Kornet said that Hauser should be okay.

Xavier Tillman made his debut for the Celtics since being traded at the deadline. He only played three-minutes but he scored one basket and blocked one shot. It was great to see him get on the court since he’s been dealing with some injuries this season. He brings a different element and versatility to the frontcourt depth to the team that Boston didn’t have before.

Other Celtics notes:

• Derrick White has just been terrific this season and further showcased himself in the first game after the All-Star break as to why he should’ve been an All-Star and why he’ll be on an All-Defensive team this season.
• Jaylen Brown is open to doing the dunk contest again next year.
• Jaden Springer also made his team debut in Chicago.
• Luke Kornet has been great in his role this season. He plays 14.9 minutes per game and has a 69.6 field goal percentage this season. Kornet is a great teammate and is valued on the team.
• Boston has the No. 1 Offensive Rating in the NBA (121.0), No. 2 Defensive Rating in the NBA (110.6).

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