The Boston Celtics dropped a 109-93 affair against the Houston Rockets on Monday night in Houston. Yes, it was the back-end of a back-to-back for Boston, and Paul George didn't play, but it was still a disappointing result against one of the best teams in the league.

After the win, Houston is now 7-1, while the loss dropped Boston to 5-2.

Jayson Tatum scored 19 points, which is below the 28 points per game that he entered the game with. And though he didn't score as much as he has been, he did continue to impact the stat sheet at historic levels.

As noted by Taylor Snow, Tatum is just the third Celtics player ever to open a season with seven straight games of six assists or more. He joins Rajon Rondo and Nate "Tiny Archibald," who is a Hall of Famer. Rondo did it three times. He had nine assists in this game.

Now back to full health after tearing his Achilles in 2024-25, Tatum has taken on a bigger role as a ballhandler and an all-around playmaker, in addition to being a scorer. And if the Celtics are going to hit their ceiling in a post-Jaylen Brown world, then they'll need Tatum's playmaking ability to continue.

Now 40 years old, Rondo spent 16 years in the NBA with the Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings, Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks, Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Clippers. Though he bounced around quite a bit at the end of his career, he was a steady presence in Boston for nine years.

In total, he was a four-time All-Star, a four-time All-Defensive selection, a three-time assist champion, a steals champion and a two-time NBA champion. He helped the Celtics win the title in 2007-08. He averaged 7.9 assists per game for his entire career, also pouring in 9.8 ppg.

A 13-year veteran of the Cincinnati Royals, Kansas City-Omaha Kings, Celtics, New York Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks, Archibald spent five years with the Celtics (1978-83). He was a three-time All-Star in Boston and he averaged 7.4 assists a game for his career. A six-time All-Star in his career, he was a five-time All-NBA selection, an assist champion, a scoring champion and an NBA champion (1981).

The Celtics are back in action on Wednesday night at home against the reeling Milwaukee Bucks, who are 1-6 on the young season. Tip-off is 7:30 p.m. ET.