NBA Abu Dhabi: Tatum says MVP ambitions won't come at Celtics' expense as Boston beat Denver Nuggets again

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum is not shying away from declaring his MVP ambitions, but assures his personal goals will never come at the expense of the team’s overall success.

The Celtics wrapped up their pre-season trip in Abu Dhabi on Sunday with a second victory in three days over the Denver Nuggets, routing the 2022/23 champions 130-104 at Etihad Arena.

Boston went a league-best 64-18 en route to the 2023/24 NBA title, but the one team they were unable to beat all season were the Denver Nuggets.

The tables were turned during the two pre-season games they had in the UAE capital though, where Boston outplayed their opponents, particularly with a 42-16 run against Denver in the third quarter.

The Celtics stuck to their starting lineup from Friday’s game – Jaylen Brown, Tatum, Luke Kornet, Derrick White, and Jrue Holiday – but the Nuggets swapped Michael Porter Jr and Aaron Gordon with Julian Strawther and Vlatko Cancar, who joined Nikola Jokic, Christian Braun and Jamal Murray on the floor on Sunday.

Newly acquired guard Russell Westbrook, who made his debut for the Nuggets on Friday, did not participate in the game, nor did Porter Jr and Gordon.

Reigning NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown scored a game-high 21 points for the Celtics, with five other players on the squad hitting double digits, including 17 points from Tatum.

Tatum, whose three-point shooting let him down during the play-offs last season, says he has been working on his shooting form and feels he has made progress ahead of the start of the new campaign.

The 26-year-old power forward shot 43 per cent from beyond the arc on Sunday, and had a 43 field goal percentage.

Discussing his MVP ambitions for next season, which tips off on October 22, Tatum said: “Everybody should have individual goals and we’re all mature enough and know what it’s like to have team success that nothing gets in the way of what we’re trying to accomplish and be as special and great as we were last year and even better this year.”

The Celtics are trying to become the first team to successfully defend their NBA crown since Golden State Warriors went back-to-back in 2017 and 2018.

“Whether the guys want to make All-Defensive Team or All-Star or being MVP, you should be able to want to go after that. That means that you’re having a hell of a year, that means that you’re dominating, that means that you’re being the best version of yourself, which we want everybody to be,” continued Tatum.

“So not chasing MVP in spite of, costing us games or anything like that, but if I’m in that conversation, that means we’re one of the best teams, that means I’m playing the right way and everybody on the team is having success and we’re going in the right path.”

Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic top-scored for the Nuggets on Sunday with 20 points in 18-and-a-half minutes of play but the team’s second unit and further combinations off the bench struggled to keep up with the Celtics after half time.

“That third quarter was a far cry of who we need to be,” admitted Nuggets coach Michael Malone. “I don’t get caught up in the losses in preseason, I get caught up in getting better and that’s the most disappointing thing about tonight.”

Celtics beat Nuggets in Game 1

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