Playing his first game since last year's playoffs because of a torn Achilles, Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum reminded everybody just how good he is on Friday night.

Back in the starting lineup, Tatum played 27 minutes in a 120-100 win over the Dallas Mavericks at TD Garden. He was rusty at the start but finished with 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting. Jaylen Brown had 24 points to lead the team in scoring while Derrick White had 20, Payton Pritchard had 18 and Neemias Queta had 16.

Queta also had 15 rebounds, pairing with Tatum to accomplish some rare team history not seen in the last 60-plus years.

Per Taylor Snow on social media:

Jayson Tatum and Neemias Queta just became the 1st Celtics duo in 60 years to record at least 15 points and 12 rebounds apiece while both playing fewer than 30 minutes.

The last pair to do it: Bill Russell and Bailey Howell in 1966.

Tatum had 12 rebounds and seven assists, nearly finishing with a triple-double in his return to the court. Queta has been a revelation this season, as his growth has been one of the biggest team storylines in the absence of Tatum.

Despite not having Tatum for 62 games and despite moving on from Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holliday and Al Horford in the offseason, the Celtics are 42-21 and in second place in the Eastern Conference.

They trail the Detroit Pistons by just four games in the standings and are now a real contender to advance to the NBA Finals. They are 1.5 games clear of the New York Knicks, who are in third place.

The big question revolves around how this team will re-acclimate Tatum into the fold, and how he will handle it all.

Will the Celtics shoehorn him in places? Will the team defer to him in an effort to get him going? Will Jaylen Brown be OK giving up a piece of the pie in a possible MVP season for him? Will Tatum have to take games off to re-adjust, throwing the re-acclimation period for a loop? Will Tatum be OK taking a backseat to guys who have succeeded all year?

Those all remain to be seen, but for one night at least, things were all well in Boston.

Our own Tom Carroll was at TD Garden for Tatum's return and you can read his game recap right here.

The Celtics will take on the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET.

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