Five days later on Oct. 30, another hugely important victory was earned — a 116-105 win over the Milwaukee Bucks despite shooting guard Jaylen Brown not being available to play.
Point guard Kemba Walker had one of his biggest games of the season with 32 points, Tatum added 25, and veteran forward Gordon Hayward added 21 points and 10 rebounds.
After a bit of a stumble following a season-long tailspin, the win over the Bucks was one of the first clues there was something special about this team.
That is came over the franchise that would hold the best record in the league at the end of NBA action on March 11th was significant — and that they did it without being at full strength even more so.